'ansae' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'ansa', where 'ansa' meant 'handle'.

'ansa' (Latin) with plural 'ansae' was used in Medieval and Scientific Latin and was adopted into English technical vocabulary (especially anatomy and astronomy) as the plural form 'ansae'.

Initially it meant 'handle' (a physical handle or loop); over time the term broadened in specialized fields to denote any loop-like anatomical structure or handle-like feature in astronomical objects.