'apterygote' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apterygōtēs', where 'a-' meant 'without' and 'pteryx' meant 'wing'.

'apterygote' entered scientific/Neo-Latin usage as part of the taxonomic name 'Apterygota' (19th century) and was later borrowed into English as the noun 'apterygote' (plural 'apterygotes') to denote wingless insects.

Initially it meant 'without wings' (literal sense); over time it came to refer specifically to insects (or the taxonomic group) that are primitively wingless.