'apaturia' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the word 'Ἀπατούρια (Apatouria)', which was the name of the festival.

'apaturia' was borrowed into scholarly Latin and modern European languages as the proper name 'apaturia' (or the variant 'apatouria'), preserving reference to the ancient festival.

Initially it referred specifically to the traditional festival among Greek phratries; in modern use it refers to that historical festival and the ceremonies associated with clan membership.