'arctoidea' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'Arctoidea', where 'arct-' (from Greek 'arktos') meant 'bear' and '-oidea' (from Greek '-oeidēs') meant 'resembling' or 'form'.

'arctoidea' was formed from the Greek elements 'arktos' + '-oeidēs' and adopted into New Latin as the taxonomic name 'Arctoidea', which became the modern scientific term used in zoological classification.

Initially it literally meant 'bear-like' ('having the form of a bear'), but over time it came to denote the taxonomic grouping of certain carnivores now referred to as Arctoidea.