'archrogue' originates from English, combining the prefix 'arch-' (from Greek 'arkhós') and the noun 'rogue' (from Middle French 'rogue'), where 'arch-' meant 'chief' and 'rogue' meant 'vagrant' or 'scoundrel'.

'archrogue' developed as a compound from the combining form 'arch-' + 'rogue' (seen in 18th–19th century English as 'arch-rogue' in hyphenated form) and later appears in closed form as 'archrogue' in literary usage.

Initially it meant 'chief rogue' (the foremost or leading rogue), but over time it has been used to emphasize an especially notorious or consummate scoundrel.