'sterol' originates from Greek, specifically the root 'stéar' (stear-) where 'stéar' meant 'tallow, fat', combined with the chemical suffix '-ol' which denotes an alcohol.

'sterol' changed from 19th-century chemical coinages such as 'stearol' and 'sterine' and eventually became the modern English word 'sterol'.

Initially, it meant 'a fat-like substance', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a steroid alcohol found in animal and plant tissues'.