'archicontinent' originates from a combination of Greek and Latin elements: the Greek prefix 'archi-' (from ἀρχι-, 'arkhi-') meaning 'chief, principal', and the Latin 'continent' (from 'continere') meaning 'to hold together.'

'archicontinent' is a modern English coinage formed by combining the Greek prefix 'archi-' with the Latin-derived English noun 'continent'; such hybrid scientific formations became more common in the 19th and 20th centuries when geologic terminology expanded.

Initially built to convey the idea of a 'principal or chief continent', the term has been used (rarely) to denote a 'very large or primordial continent' comparable to the concept of a supercontinent.