'arshin' originates from Russian, specifically the word 'аршин', borrowed from Persian 'aršīn', where 'arš' meant 'arm' (used as a measure).

'arshin' changed from the Persian word 'aršīn' (and related Middle Persian forms such as 'aršan') into Russian as 'аршин' and was later borrowed into English as 'arshin'.

Initially, it meant 'arm' or an arm-based measure (a cubit-like length); over time it came to denote a standardized unit of length of roughly 71.12 cm in Russian use.