'apeman' originates from English, specifically the compound of the words 'ape' + 'man', where 'ape' referred to a large tailless Old World monkey and 'man' meant 'human being'.

'apeman' was formed in modern English as a straightforward compound of 'ape' (Old English 'apa') and 'man' (Old English 'mann'); the element 'ape' itself comes from Old English and earlier Germanic forms, while 'man' is from Old English 'mann'.

Initially used to denote an imagined or fossil early human/hominid (an 'ape-like man'), it later also developed a figurative, often derogatory sense describing people perceived as primitive or brutish.