'archdepredator' originates from Modern English, specifically the prefix 'arch-' (ultimately from Greek 'arkhos' via Latin) and 'depredator' from Late Latin 'depraedator', where 'arch-' meant 'chief' or 'principal' and 'depraedator' meant 'plunderer' or 'one who plunders/predates'.

'depredator' comes from Latin 'depraedator' (plunderer), passed into Late Latin and then into English as 'depredator'; the combining prefix 'arch-' (from Greek 'arkhos' meaning 'chief') was later attached in Modern English to form 'archdepredator' to denote a principal predator.

Initially elements meant 'chief' and 'plunderer' (one who plunders); over time the compound evolved in usage to mean the 'chief or dominant predator' in an ecological context.