'tintinnabulation' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'tintinnabulum', where 'tintinn-' is imitative of ringing (related to Latin 'tintinnare' or 'tinnire', 'to ring') and the suffix '-abulum' denoted an instrument or the result of an action.

'tintinnabulation' developed from Late Latin 'tintinnabulatio' (or Medieval/Neo-Latin formations based on 'tintinnabulum') and entered English usage with the noun-forming suffix '-ation' attached to the root, appearing in literary English by the 17th–19th centuries.

Initially it referred specifically to the action or sound of ringing (especially bells); over time it came to be used mainly to describe the characteristic ringing/tinkling sound itself and is often used poetically.