The Spanish word 'palmito' comes from the Latin word 'palmus', which meant 'palm' as a unit of measurement (roughly the width of a palm). This word evolved into the Spanish 'palmo', which retained the same meaning. The diminutive suffix '-ito' was then added to 'palmo' to form 'palmito', literally meaning 'little palm'. Over time, this term came to specifically refer to a small palm tree or palmetto, likely due to its smaller size compared to regular palm trees.

A simpler related Spanish word is 'palmo', which refers to the palm of the hand as a unit of measurement. While 'palmo' maintains the measurement meaning from Latin, its diminutive form 'palmito' evolved to specifically describe a type of small palm tree. Another related word is 'palma', which directly refers to either the palm of the hand or a palm tree.

The English word 'palm' is related to 'palmito', as both ultimately derive from Latin 'palma/palmus'. While English 'palm' can refer to either the hand or the tree (like Spanish 'palma'), the diminutive Spanish form 'palmito' specifically refers to the small palm variety. English also borrowed the word 'palmetto' from Spanish 'palmito', which refers to the same type of small palm tree.