'Apiocerid' originates from New Latin (taxonomic usage), specifically the family name 'Apioceridae', which is based on the genus name 'Apiocera' plus the zoological suffix '-id'.

'Apiocerid' developed from the family name 'Apioceridae' (coined in modern taxonomic Latin) and came into English as a noun meaning 'a member of Apioceridae'.

Initially the root referred to the genus name 'Apiocera' in scientific Latin; over time the English form 'Apiocerid' came to mean any individual belonging to the family Apioceridae.