'apothecioid' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'apothecium', combined with the Greek-derived suffix '-oid' (from Greek 'eidos'/'oeidēs'), where '-oid' meant 'resembling; having the form of'.

'apothecioid' was formed in modern scientific English by attaching the suffix '-oid' to New Latin 'apothecium' (used in biological descriptions of cup-shaped fruiting bodies), ultimately deriving the suffix from Greek 'eidos' meaning 'form'.

Initially it meant 'resembling an apothecium', and this technical sense has remained stable in modern mycological and lichenological usage.