'araneologist' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'araneologia', where 'aranea' meant 'spider' and Greek 'logos' (via '-logy'/'-logist') meant 'study' or 'one who studies'.

'araneologist' changed from New Latin 'araneologia' (built from Latin 'aranea' and Greek '-logia/-logist') and eventually became the modern English formation 'araneologist' by adding the English agentive suffix '-ist'.

Initially, roots referred to 'spider' and 'study of spiders'; over time the compound came to be used in English to mean specifically 'a person who studies spiders'.