'archabomination' originates from a combination of the prefix 'arch-' (from Greek 'arkhi-'), where 'arkhi-' meant 'chief' or 'principal', and the noun 'abomination' (from Latin 'abominatio').

'abomination' comes from Latin 'abominatio' (from 'abominari' meaning 'to deprecate as an ill omen'), passed into Old French and then Middle English; English then formed the compound by prefixing 'arch-' to 'abomination' (often first seen hyphenated as 'arch-abomination'), which later appears as the solid form 'archabomination'.

Initially it conveyed the sense of 'a chief/principal abomination' (i.e., the worst kind of abomination); over time it has come to be used more generally for anything regarded as especially heinous or detestable.