'arthropod' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'arthron' and 'pous', where 'arthron' meant 'joint' and 'pous' meant 'foot'.

'arthropod' was formed from New Latin 'Arthropoda' (19th century, a taxonomic name) and then adopted into modern English as 'arthropod'.

Initially it literally meant 'jointed foot', but over time it evolved to denote the whole group (phylum) of animals with jointed appendages and an exoskeleton—i.e., the modern biological meaning.