'anthropolatry' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'anthropos' meaning 'human' and 'latreia' meaning 'worship'.

'anthropolatry' passed into New Latin/Scholastic usage as forms like 'anthropolatria' and was later adopted into English with the modern spelling 'anthropolatry'.

Initially it denoted the literal act of 'worshiping humans'; over time the term has remained focused on that sense but is now often used in theological, anthropological, or critical contexts to describe excessive admiration or deification of people.