'archaeolithic' originates from Greek, specifically from the combining elements 'archaeo-' (from Greek 'arkhaios') and '-lithic' (from Greek 'lithos'), where 'arkhaios' meant 'ancient' and 'lithos' meant 'stone'.

'archaeolithic' was formed in modern English (19th century scholarly coinage) by combining the Neo-Latin/Greek combining form 'archaeo-' with the adjective-forming element '-lithic' (compare 'Paleolithic') and eventually became the standard English adjective 'archaeolithic'.

Initially, it meant 'pertaining to ancient stone (ages or tools)', but over time it also acquired a figurative sense of 'extremely old-fashioned' in broader usage.