'arpanet' originates from English, specifically the acronym 'ARPANET', formed from 'ARPA' (Advanced Research Projects Agency) + 'net' (short for 'network').

'arpanet' was coined in the late 1960s as the name for the experimental ARPA network; the technologies and protocols developed on 'ARPANET' later contributed to the development of the modern English word 'Internet' and the global network it names.

Initially, it meant 'the packet-switching network created by ARPA'; over time the term came to be used historically to refer to that early network and its role as the precursor to the modern 'Internet'.