'aphorismos' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the word 'ἀφορισμός' (aphorismós), where the prefix 'ἀπό' ('apo-' meaning 'away, off') combined with the root 'ὁρίζω' ('horizō' meaning 'to limit, to bound').

'aphorismos' in Ancient Greek was borrowed into Late Latin/Medieval scholarly usage as 'aphorismus', then passed through Old French/Latin forms and finally influenced the English noun 'aphorism'.

Initially, it meant 'a delimitation or formal definition'; over time the sense broadened in many languages to mean 'a concise, pithy statement (an aphorism)', which is the common modern English sense.