'sociocultural' originates from the combination of 'socio-' and 'cultural', where 'socio-' is derived from the Latin 'socius' meaning 'companion' and 'cultural' from 'cultura' meaning 'cultivation'.

'sociocultural' was formed by combining the words 'social' and 'cultural' in the 20th century to describe phenomena that involve both social and cultural aspects.

Initially, it meant 'pertaining to social and cultural aspects', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.