'apogamy' originates from New Latin, ultimately from Greek 'apogamos' (ἀπόγαμος), where 'apo-' meant 'away from' and 'gamos' meant 'marriage' or 'union'.

'apogamos' (Greek) passed into New Latin as 'apogamia'/'apogamy' in scientific usage and was adopted into modern English as 'apogamy' with specialized biological meaning.

Initially it conveyed the idea of 'absence of marriage or union'; over time it became specialized in biology to mean 'development or reproduction without fertilization'.