'archdeanery' originates from the combination of the prefix 'arch-' (from Greek 'arkhi-' meaning 'chief') and 'deanery' (from Old English 'dene' via Latin 'decanus'), where 'arch-' meant 'chief' and 'deanery' meant 'office or jurisdiction of a dean'.

'archdeanery' formed as a compound in Middle English from 'arch-' + 'deanery'; 'deanery' itself developed from Old English and Latin ('decanus') and then took the suffix '-ery' to indicate an office or jurisdiction, before combining with the prefix to denote the senior office or its district.

Initially the elements referred separately to 'chief' and to the 'office/district of a dean'; over time the compound came to mean specifically the office or jurisdiction of a senior church official (an archdean).