'amacrine' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'a-' meaning 'without' and 'makros' meaning 'long', referring to the absence of a long axon.

'amacrine' was derived from the Greek word 'amakros' and eventually became the modern English word 'amacrine'.

Initially, it referred to cells without long axons, and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.