'arrhenotoky' originates from Modern New Latin/Greek technical coinage, specifically from Greek elements 'arrhen-' and '-toky' (from 'tokos'), where 'arrhen-' meant 'male' and 'tokos' meant 'birth' or 'offspring'.

'arrhenotoky' was formed in scientific usage (Modern New Latin/English) in the 19th century from Greek-derived components; it relates to the adjective 'arrhenotokous' and earlier New Latin formations before becoming established in modern biological terminology as 'arrhenotoky'.

Initially it literally meant 'male birth' from the Greek roots; over time it came to be used specifically in biology to mean 'the production of male offspring from unfertilized eggs' (a type of parthenogenesis).