The Spanish word 'fotomontaje' (photomontage) is a compound word that combines two main elements. The first part 'foto-' comes from the Greek word 'φῶς' (phos) meaning 'light', which evolved into 'fotografía' (photograph) and was then shortened to 'foto'. The second part comes from the Latin 'montare' meaning 'to mount', which entered Spanish through French 'monter', becoming 'montar' in Spanish. When combined with the collective suffix '-aje', this formed 'montaje' (mounting). The two elements 'foto' and 'montaje' were then combined to create 'fotomontaje', referring to the technique of mounting or assembling multiple photographs into a single composition.

Several common Spanish words are related to 'fotomontaje'. The simpler word 'foto' is very commonly used as the shortened form of 'fotografía' (photograph). The verb 'montar' is a frequently used word meaning 'to mount' or 'to ride', and 'montaje' is commonly used for any kind of mounting or assembly process.

English speakers can recognize parts of 'fotomontaje' through related English words. The 'foto-' part is clearly related to English words like 'photo', 'photograph', and 'photographic'. The 'montaje' part is related to English words like 'mount', 'mounting', and 'montage' - the last one being particularly close as it means the same thing. The English 'montage' and Spanish 'montaje' both came from French, which explains their similarity.