'anthropolatrist' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'ánthrōpos' and 'latreía', where 'ánthrōpos' meant 'human' and 'latreía' meant 'worship' (with the English suffix '-ist' meaning 'one who practices').

'anthropolatrist' changed from the Greek compound of 'ánthrōpos' + 'latreía' into Late Latin/Medieval Latin forms related to 'anthropolatria' (anthropolatry) and eventually formed the English noun 'anthropolatrist' from 'anthropolatry' + '-ist'.

Initially it referred to the concept of 'worship of humans' and over time the related English form came to mean specifically 'a person who worships humans'.