'archont' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'arkhōn', where the root 'arkh-' meant 'to rule'.

'archont' changed from Byzantine/Ancient Greek 'arkhōn' (ἄρχων) and was adopted into later scholarly and theological Latin as 'archon(t)-', eventually entering modern English usage as 'archont'.

Initially, it meant 'ruler' or 'magistrate' in the civic sense; over time the term also came to denote 'a ruling spiritual or cosmic power' in Gnostic and later literary contexts.