'rev/min' originates from modern English as an abbreviation of the phrase 'revolution per minute', where 'revolution' ultimately comes from Latin 'revolutio' meaning 'a turning' and 'minute' comes from Latin 'minuta' meaning 'small (part)'.

'revolution' passed from Latin 'revolutio' into Old French and Middle English (e.g. Middle English 'revolucioun') and became the modern English 'revolution'. 'Minute' came from Latin 'minuta' through Old French and Middle English. The short form 'rev' and the notation 'rev/min' developed in engineering and instrumentation usage in the 19th–20th centuries (e.g. on tachometers and technical charts).

Initially, 'revolution' meant 'a turn or the act of turning' and 'minute' meant 'small (part of an hour)'; together the phrase came to be used specifically as a measurement meaning 'the number of full rotations in one minute'.