'arthrodesis' originates from New Latin (medical formation), ultimately from Greek, specifically the Greek words 'arthron' and 'desis', where 'arthron' meant 'joint' and 'desis' meant 'binding'.

'arthrodesis' was formed in 19th-century medical New Latin from the Greek elements 'arthron' + 'desis' and entered English as a technical surgical term meaning the binding of a joint.

Initially it meant 'the act of binding a joint' (literal binding), but over time it came to mean specifically the surgical fusion of a joint and the fused state itself.