'aorist' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the word 'aoristos', where 'a-' meant 'not' and 'horistos' (from 'horizein') meant 'divided' or 'limited'.

'aorist' changed from the Greek word 'aoristos' into Late Latin 'aoristus' and then entered English usage as 'aorist' through grammatical and philological writings.

Initially, it meant 'indefinite' or 'not limited', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a grammatical tense or form expressing a simple or undefined past action'.