'Covenanter' originates from English, specifically formed from the noun 'covenant' + the agent suffix '-er', where 'covenant' came via Middle English from Old French and ultimately from Latin 'convenire' (to come together, agree).

'Covenant' passed from Latin 'convenire' into Old French (e.g. 'covenant'/'convenant') and Middle English 'covenaunt'/'covenant'; the agentive form 'covenanter' developed in Early Modern English to denote one who is a party to a covenant, later becoming the name of the Scottish movement 'Covenanters' in the 17th century.

Initially, it meant 'one who enters into or upholds a covenant' in a general sense; over time it became a specific label for the 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian movement and its adherents.