'apophthegmatist' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apophthēgma' (ἀπόφθεγμα), where 'apo-' meant 'away/from' and the root related to 'phthēg-' (uttering/sound) meaning a spoken utterance or saying.

'apophthēgma' (Greek) passed into Latin as 'apophthegm(a)', and via Late Latin and learned English formations the noun 'apophthegmatist' was coined in English by adding the agentive suffix '-ist' to indicate a person associated with apophthegms.

Initially the root referred to a 'spoken utterance' or 'pithy saying'; over time the compound with '-ist' came to mean 'one who composes or collects such pithy sayings' rather than the saying itself.