'vasoconstriction' originates from New Latin (medical formation), specifically combining the prefix 'vaso-' from Latin 'vas' where 'vas' meant 'vessel', and 'constriction' from Latin 'constringere' (via Late Latin 'constrictio'), where 'con-' meant 'together' and 'stringere' meant 'to bind or draw tight'.

'vasoconstriction' developed as a modern medical English term by combining the Neo-Latin prefix 'vaso-' (from Latin 'vas') with the Latin-derived word 'constriction' (from Late Latin 'constrictio'); the combined term entered English usage in the 19th century biomedical literature to name the physiological process.

Initially the Latin elements referred generally to 'vessel' ('vas') and 'binding/tightening' ('constringere'); over time the compound came to denote specifically the physiological narrowing of blood vessels rather than a general tightening.