'xenoglossophobia' originates from Greek, specifically the roots 'xeno-' from 'xénos' meaning 'stranger, foreign', 'glosso-' from 'glōssa' meaning 'tongue, language', and 'phobia' from 'phóbos' meaning 'fear'.

'xenoglossophobia' was formed in modern English by combining classical Greek elements (compare earlier coinages such as 'xenoglossia' meaning 'speaking a foreign tongue') and the productive medical/psychological suffix '-phobia', yielding the modern compound 'xenoglossophobia'.

Initially, related formations referred specifically to 'speaking or possessing an unknown tongue' (e.g. 'xenoglossia'); over time the modern compound came to denote the fear of foreign languages themselves or of encountering/using them.