'aphid' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'Aphis', where 'aphis' meant 'plant louse'.

'aphid' changed from New Latin 'Aphis', which itself comes from Greek 'aphis' (ἀphis), and eventually became the modern English word 'aphid'.

Initially, it meant 'plant louse', and over time it has retained that basic sense as 'a small sap-sucking insect', now used generally for members of the superfamily Aphidoidea.