'arboriculturist' originates from English formation based on 'arboriculture' plus the agent suffix '-ist'; 'arbor-' comes from Latin 'arbor' meaning 'tree' and 'cultur-' from Latin 'cultura' meaning 'cultivation'.

'arboriculturist' developed from the 19th-century noun 'arboriculture' (from Latin 'arbor' + Latin 'cultura'), with the agentive suffix '-ist' (from Late Latin/Greek '-ista') added to form the word for a person practicing the discipline.

Initially the root referred to the practice or art of cultivating trees ('arboriculture'); over time the derived form came to denote the person who practices or specializes in that field ('arboriculturist').