'Prosimia' originates from New Latin used in scientific classification, combining the prefix 'pro-' (from Greek 'pro', meaning 'before') and the Latin word 'simia' meaning 'ape'.

'Prosimia' derived from the Latinized taxonomic forms such as 'Prosimii' used in older scientific literature and eventually appeared in modern scientific usage as 'Prosimia' to denote prosimian primates; as taxonomy advanced, the grouping was split and the term grew less common.

Initially it meant 'those before apes' referring to primitive primates, but over time the term became an imprecise, largely obsolete classification replaced by more accurate clades.