'skew-symmetry' originates from modern English, composed of the word 'skew' and the word 'symmetry', where 'skew' meant 'crooked' or 'oblique' and 'symmetry' derives from Greek 'symmetria' meaning 'measured together' ('syn-' together + 'metron' measure).

'skew' developed in English from earlier senses of 'crooked, at an angle' (recorded in Middle English and Scots), while 'symmetry' came into English via Latin 'symmetria' from Greek 'symmetria'; the combined mathematical compound 'skew-symmetry' is a modern formation used in 19th–20th century mathematical literature to name the property, paralleling terms like 'skew-symmetric'.

Initially, 'skew' referred to being slanted or oblique and 'symmetry' to balanced proportion; over time the compound came to denote the specific algebraic property 'A^T = -A' in linear algebra rather than a general visual slant or balance.