'arpeggio' originates from Italian, specifically the word 'arpeggio', where 'arpa' meant 'harp' and the suffix indicated an action or manner related to the harp.

'arpeggio' was borrowed into English from Italian (and from Italian verb forms such as 'arpeggiare'); the Italian term itself comes from 'arpa' ('harp') and developed into the musical noun 'arpeggio' in Italian before entering English usage in the 18th–19th century.

Initially, it meant 'in the manner of a harp' or referred to a harp-like broken chord; over time it came to mean generally 'a broken chord' or the action 'to play notes of a chord in succession', which is the current usage.