'uncinariosis' originates from New Latin (Neo-Latin), specifically the genus name 'Uncinaria' combined with the suffix '-osis', where 'Uncinaria' derives from Latin 'uncinus' meaning 'hook' and '-osis' meant 'disease (a medical condition)'.

'uncinariosis' developed as a medical/biological formation in modern scientific Latin by joining the genus name 'Uncinaria' (named in the 19th century) with the classical suffix '-osis'; it was used in veterinary and parasitological literature and relates to terms such as 'uncinariasis' and other -osis disease names.

Initially it referred specifically to disease caused by species of the genus 'Uncinaria'; over time it has been used interchangeably with related terms for hookworm infection and sometimes applied more broadly to similar parasitic hookworm infections.