'anthropoid' originates from Modern Latin 'Anthropoidea', ultimately from Greek 'ánthrōpos' where 'anthrop-' meant 'human' and the suffix '-oid' (from Greek 'eidos') meant 'resembling' or 'form of'.

'anthropoid' entered English in the late 18th to early 19th century via New/Modern Latin taxonomic terms such as 'Anthropoidea' and was formed from Greek 'anthrōpos' + the suffix '-oid' to denote 'human-like' groups; it became used in zoology to name the group of higher primates.

Initially it meant 'resembling a human' (human-like); over time the term was adopted in taxonomy to denote 'higher primates' and is now used both as an adjective ('human-like') and as a noun for certain primates ('anthropoids').