'arsenicophagy' originates from modern English as a compound of 'arsenic' and the suffix '-phagy'. 'arsenic' traces back to Late Latin 'arsenicum' and Greek 'arsenikon', and the suffix '-phagy' comes from Greek 'phagein', where 'phagein' meant 'to eat'.

'arsenicophagy' is a neo‑classical English formation combining the noun 'arsenic' and the Greek-derived combining form '-phagy'; it is a modern scholarly/coined term rather than one that evolved through Old or Middle English stages.

Initially the components literally meant 'arsenic' and 'to eat'; over time the compounded term has been used in modern usage to denote the specific act or habit of ingesting arsenic, retaining the original component meanings.