'apiculturist' originates from New Latin/French and English, specifically from the word 'apiculture' with the agent suffix '-ist', where 'apis' meant 'bee' and 'cultura' meant 'cultivation'.

'apiculturist' changed from French 'apiculture' (coined in the 19th century) and the English noun 'apiculture', with the suffix '-ist' added to denote a practitioner, eventually forming the modern English 'apiculturist'.

Initially, it meant 'one who cultivates or keeps bees', and over time it has retained that meaning as 'a person who practices apiculture (a beekeeper)'.