'racemiform' originates from New Latin and English, specifically from the noun 'raceme' (from Modern Latin 'racemus') combined with the English suffix '-form', where 'racemus' meant 'a cluster or bunch' and '-form' meant 'having the form of'.

'racemiform' developed by combining the botanical term 'raceme' (from Latin 'racemus' → Modern Latin 'racema'/'raceme' used in botanical Latin) with the productive English suffix '-form'; thus the construction moved from Latinate botanical usage into English technical adjective formation.

Initially, the elements referred generally to a 'cluster' ('racemus') and a shape ('-form'); over time the compound came to mean specifically 'having the form of a raceme' in botanical contexts.