'Arabicism' originates from English, formed from the adjective 'Arabic' + the suffix '-ism', where 'Arabic' meant 'relating to the Arabs' and '-ism' meant 'state, quality, or characteristic'.

'Arabic' comes via Middle French 'arabique' and Medieval Latin 'Arabicus' from Late Latin, ultimately from Arabic 'ʿArab' (عرب). The English formation 'Arabicism' developed by adding the productive English/learned suffix '-ism' to denote a characteristic or influence.

Initially, elements labelled as 'Arabicism' were identified simply as 'things from or relating to the Arabs'; over time the term came to be used more specifically for borrowings and linguistic/stylistic influences from Arabic in other languages.