'anoplotheriid' originates from New Latin, specifically the family name 'Anoplotheriidae', where the Greek elements 'anoplos' meant 'unarmed' and 'therion' meant 'beast'.

'anoplotheriid' changed from the New Latin family name 'Anoplotheriidae', which itself derives from the Greek genus name 'Anoplotherium', and eventually became the modern English taxonomic term 'anoplotheriid'.

Initially, it meant 'unarmed beast' in the name 'Anoplotherium', but over time it evolved into its current meaning referring to 'a member of the family Anoplotheriidae' (an extinct group of artiodactyls).