'archespore' originates from Neo-Latin, ultimately from Greek elements 'arkhē' and 'spora', where 'arkhē' meant 'beginning' and 'spora' meant 'seed' or 'sowing'.

'archespore' developed via Neo-Latin terms such as 'archesporium' (a spore-forming tissue) and was adopted into English as 'archespore'.

Initially it referred more generally to the spore-forming tissue or region; over time it has come to be used for the specific cells that give rise to spores (sporocytes).