'archididascalos' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'ἀρχιδιδάσκαλος', where 'archi-' meant 'chief' and 'didaskalos' meant 'teacher'.

'archididascalos' passed into Late Latin/medieval scholarly usage (sometimes seen as 'archididascalus') and thereafter appears in English-language ecclesiastical and classical scholarship largely unchanged from the Greek form.

Initially, it meant 'chief or leading teacher' in a literal sense; over time the term remained close to that meaning but became rare and specialized, now chiefly appearing in historical or scholarly contexts.