'apiocerid' originates from Neo-Latin, specifically from the word 'Apiocera' combined with the suffix '-id', where '-id' meant 'belonging to' or 'member of'.

'apiocerid' changed from the Neo-Latin formation 'Apioceridae' (the family name) and was adopted into English as 'apiocerid' to denote a member of that family.

Initially, it meant 'a member of the genus Apiocera or the family Apioceridae', and this meaning has remained largely unchanged in modern usage.