'argonaut' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'Argonautēs', where 'Argo' referred to the name of the ship Argo and 'nautēs' meant 'sailor'.

'argonaut' changed from Greek 'Argonautēs' to Latin 'Argonautes' and then entered English through Late Latin and other European languages to become the modern English 'argonaut'.

Initially it meant 'a member of the crew of the Argo (a sailor of Jason)', but over time it evolved to mean 'an adventurous sailor or explorer' and was later also applied to the genus 'Argonauta' (paper nautiluses).