'aphorist' ultimately originates from Greek, specifically from 'aphorismos' (ἀφορισμός) and the verb 'aphorizō' (ἀφορίζω), where the prefix 'apo-' meant 'away' or 'off' and 'horizein' meant 'to bound' or 'to define'. The English noun developed by adding the agentive suffix '-ist' to 'aphorism'.

'aphorismos' in Greek passed into Latin and Medieval Latin as 'aphorismus' and into Middle English as 'aphorism'; the agent noun 'aphorist' was formed in English (modern formation) from 'aphorism' + '-ist' to denote a maker or writer of aphorisms.

Originally referring to a 'definition' or a concise statement (a delimitation), the root developed into the sense of a brief, pithy observation expressing a general truth; 'aphorist' came to mean 'one who composes or utters aphorisms.'