'aptera' originates from Greek and New Latin, specifically from Greek 'apteron' (ἀπτερόν) and adjective 'apteros' (ἄπτερος), where the prefix 'a-' meant 'not' or 'without' and 'pteron' meant 'wing'.

'apteron' and 'apteros' in Greek were adopted into New Latin as 'aptera' (neuter/plural/collective forms) and were used in early scientific classifications (for example, Linnaeus's 'Aptera'); over time the term became obsolete in formal taxonomy as classifications were revised.

Initially, it meant 'wingless' or 'things without wings' in Greek and early scientific Latin; over time it has remained semantically tied to 'wingless' but lost currency as a formal taxonomic rank and appears mainly in historical, descriptive, or proper-name contexts.