'apterism' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apteros', where 'a-' meant 'without' and 'pteron' meant 'wing'.

'apteros' passed into New Latin/Neo-Latin forms and influenced English formations such as 'apterous'; the noun 'apterism' was later formed in English by combining the stem with the suffix '-ism'.

Initially it meant 'without wings' in the original Greek sense, and over time it has retained that core meaning as 'winglessness' in modern usage.