'suppuration' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'suppuratio', where the verb 'suppurare' meant 'to fester' (from the prefix 'sub-' meaning 'under' plus a root related to 'putre' meaning 'to rot').

'suppuration' changed from the Late Latin noun 'suppuratio' and Old French influences into Middle English as 'suppuration' and eventually became the modern English word 'suppuration'.

Initially, it meant 'the process of festering or rotting beneath the surface', and over time it evolved into its current medical meaning of 'the formation or discharge of pus'.