'appositive' originates from Latin, specifically the Medieval/ Late Latin word 'appositivus', where the prefix 'ad-' (assimilated to 'ap-') meant 'to/toward' and the root 'ponere' meant 'to place'.

'appositive' came into English via Medieval/ Late Latin 'appositivus' (from Latin 'appositus', past participle of 'apponere'/'adponere'), and entered English as the grammatical term 'appositive' in the modern period.

Initially, the root sense was 'placed near/placed to' (i.e. physically placed beside); over time it developed the specialized grammatical meaning 'placed beside to rename or describe' that we use today.