'arthrotomy' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'arthron' meaning 'joint' and 'tomē' meaning 'a cutting'; the modern English form is built from Greek-derived combining forms.

'arthrotomy' comes from New Latin/medical coinage 'arthrotomia' (from Greek 'arthrotomía'), which entered English as 'arthrotomy' via Medieval/Modern medical Latin usage.

Initially, the formation literally meant 'cutting of a joint' and over time has remained specialized to denote a surgical incision into a joint for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.