'arenilitic' originates from New Latin/modern geological formation, ultimately built from Latin 'arena' meaning 'sand' combined with elements from Greek 'lithos' meaning 'stone' (forming the '-litic' element indicating relation to rock).

'arenilitic' developed from the noun 'arenite' (a term for sandstone) — itself from Latin 'arena' 'sand' via scientific Latin/French — with the adjectival suffix -itic/-litic added in technical geological usage to produce 'arenilitic' in modern English scientific texts.

Initially used to denote material 'of or relating to arenite (sandstone)', the meaning has remained specialized and continues to describe rock texture or composition that is sand-dominated.