'arthrobacterium' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'Arthrobacterium', where 'arthro-' meant 'joint' (from Greek 'arthron') and 'bacterium' meant 'small rod' or 'staff' (from Greek 'bakterion').

'arthrobacterium' was formed in modern scientific Latin from Greek elements 'arthron' + 'bakterion' and relates to descriptive names like 'Arthrobacter'; the modern taxonomic name developed through microbial taxonomy in the 20th century.

Initially the components described a 'jointed rod' (referring to cell shape or appearance), and over time the combination came to denote the taxonomic genus of soil bacteria with that characteristic growth pattern.