'anthropotomist' originates from Greek, specifically the roots 'anthropos' and 'tomē', where 'anthropos' meant 'human' and 'tomē' meant 'cutting' or 'a cutting'.

'anthropotomist' developed in English from formations like 'anthropotomy' (from New Latin/Greek elements) with the agentive suffix '-ist', moving from terms such as 'anthropotomy' or 'anthropotomia' into the modern English noun 'anthropotomist'.

Initially it referred literally to 'one who cuts humans' (in the sense of dissection); over time the term has remained rare and the role is more commonly described by words like 'anatomist' or 'dissector'.