'synclinorium' originates from Neo-Latin, specifically formed from the elements 'syn-' (from Greek) and a form of Greek 'klínein' ('to lean, bend'), combined with the Latin-derived suffix '-orium' used to denote a place or associated structure.

'synclinorium' developed as a technical geological term in modern (19th–20th century) usage by extending 'syncline' (from Greek 'syn-' + 'klinein') with the augmentative/structural suffix '-orium', and was adopted into English geological literature to denote a larger or composite syncline.

Initially related to the basic idea of a syncline or bending (leaning) of strata, it evolved to refer specifically to a large-scale or composite syncline containing multiple smaller folds.