'anthropoglot' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'anthrōpos' and 'glōtta' (or 'glōssa'), where 'anthrōpos' meant 'human' and 'glōtta/glōssa' meant 'tongue' or 'language'.

'anthropoglot' was formed in English as a learned compound modeled on Greek-derived formations (as in 'polyglot'); it comes from the combination of Greek elements and entered English usage via Neo-Latin/learned coinage practices in the 18th–19th century.

Initially it meant 'having a human tongue or speaking human language,' and over time the sense has remained largely the same, used chiefly in learned, archaic, or descriptive contexts.