'tubo-ovarian' originates from Latin, specifically from the combining form 'tubo-' from Latin 'tubus' meaning 'tube' and 'ovarian' from Latin 'ovarium' meaning 'ovary (organ of eggs)'.

'tubo-' is a modern medical combining form derived from Latin 'tubus' (tube). 'Ovarian' comes from Latin 'ovarium' via New Latin/Medical Latin and Middle English developments of 'ovary', eventually producing the English adjective 'ovarian'; the compound 'tubo-ovarian' arose in medical usage to describe conditions involving both tube and ovary.

Initially the components referred simply to 'tube' and 'ovary'; over time the compound came to be used in medical contexts specifically to denote structures or pathological conditions involving both the fallopian tube and the ovary (its core meaning has remained stable).