'anthropotheistic' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'anthrōpos' and 'theos', where 'anthrōpos' meant 'human' and 'theos' meant 'god'; the adjectival suffix '-istic' comes through Late Latin/French formation of adjectives from nouns.

'anthropotheistic' was formed in English by combining the noun 'anthropotheism' (itself a compound from Greek elements) with the adjectival suffix '-ic'/'-istic', so the noun 'anthropotheism' gave rise to the adjective 'anthropotheistic'.

Initially it referred specifically to the doctrine that humans are gods or should be worshiped as such; over time it has also been used more broadly to describe the attribution of divine qualities or status to humans in literature, philosophy, and critique.