'artel' originates from Russian, specifically the word 'артель' (artel'), where the term referred to a collective or cooperative group.

'артель' entered English as a borrowing in descriptions of Russian communal and labor arrangements in the 19th century; the modern English 'artel' is a direct loan reflecting that Russian form.

Initially it meant a specific form of worker collective or gang in Russia; over time it has been used more generally to denote small cooperative work groups or enterprises in English descriptions.