'arsenic' originates from Late Latin, specifically the word 'arsenicum', from Greek 'arsenikon'.

'arsenikon' (Greek) passed into Late Latin as 'arsenicum', then into Medieval and Middle English as 'arsenik' or 'arsenike', eventually becoming modern English 'arsenic'.

Initially, the Greek term referred to the yellow pigment (orpiment) and had connotations of 'potent'/'male' in its root; over time it came to denote the chemical element and its compounds, now primarily used for the element and its toxic compounds.