'woundwort' originates from English, specifically from the combination of 'wound' and 'wort', where 'wort' meant 'plant' or 'herb' and 'wound' referred to an injury.

'woundwort' was formed in English by compounding 'wound' and 'wort', following the tradition of naming medicinal plants after their supposed uses.

Initially, it meant 'a plant used for treating wounds', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage, though it is now mostly used as a botanical term.