'arachnology' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'arachne', where 'arachne' meant 'spider', combined with the combining form '-logy' from Greek 'logia' meaning 'study'.

'arachnology' changed from Neo-Latin 'arachnologia' and eventually became the modern English word 'arachnology'.

Initially, it meant 'the study of spiders', and over time it has remained essentially the same in modern usage as 'the scientific study of spiders and related arachnids'.