'sacral' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'sacrālis', where the root 'sacer' meant 'sacred' or 'holy'.

'sacral' developed from Latin 'sacrālis' and Medieval Latin forms referring to things 'pertaining to the sacred'; the anatomical sense is influenced by Latin 'os sacrum' ('sacred bone'), a term used in medieval anatomical texts, and the word entered English via Medieval/Scientific Latin and Middle French influences to yield the modern English 'sacral'.

Initially, it meant 'pertaining to the sacred' (religious); over time it also came to be used anatomically to mean 'relating to the sacrum' ('sacral bone'), while the religious sense remains in some contexts.