'zwitterion' originates from German, specifically the word 'Zwitterion', where 'Zwitter' originally meant 'hybrid' or 'hermaphrodite' and the suffix 'ion' comes from Greek 'ion' used in chemistry to denote a charged particle.

'zwitterion' developed in modern scientific German from 'Zwitter' (meaning a hybrid or organism of mixed sex) combined with the Greek-derived chemical suffix 'ion'; the term was then borrowed into English scientific vocabulary with the same form 'zwitterion'.

Initially 'Zwitter' referred to a hybrid or hermaphrodite in German; over time the compound term 'zwitterion' came to denote a particle bearing both positive and negative charges within the same molecule (a dipolar ion).