'meiosis-related' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the noun 'meiosis' and the adjective 'related'. 'Meiosis' itself comes from Greek 'meiosis' (μείωσις), where the root 'mei-' meant 'to lessen' or 'diminution'; 'related' comes ultimately from Latin 'relatus' (past participle of 'referre').

'meiosis' passed into scientific Latin/Modern Latin as 'meiosis' and was adopted into English in the late 19th to early 20th century to name the reduction division in cells. 'Related' developed from Latin 'referre' → past participle 'relatus' → Old French/Anglo-Norman influences → Middle English 'relaten/related'. The compound 'meiosis-related' is a modern scientific formation created in 20th-century English to describe things associated with meiosis.

Initially, the Greek root conveyed a general sense of 'lessening' or 'diminution'; in biological usage 'meiosis' came to mean the specific cell-division process that reduces chromosome number. 'Related' retained its sense of 'connected to'. Together the compound evolved to mean 'connected with the biological process of meiosis'.