'arbutinase' originates from Modern English, specifically the word 'arbutin' + the suffix '-ase', where 'arbutin' referred to the glycoside derived from the arbutus (strawberry tree) and '-ase' meant 'enzyme'.

'arbutinase' changed from New Latin the noun 'arbutinum' (from Latin 'arbutus', the arbutus tree), which yielded the chemical name 'arbutin'; in Modern English the enzyme name was formed by adding the productive enzyme suffix '-ase' to give 'arbutinase'.

Initially, the root 'arbutin' referred to a compound obtained from the arbutus plant, but over time the derived term 'arbutinase' came to mean specifically an enzyme that breaks down that compound.