'artilleryman' originates from English, specifically the words 'artillery' and 'man', where 'artillery' referred to 'war engines' or 'large guns' and 'man' meant 'person'.

'artillery' entered English from Old French 'artillerie' (late 13th century), itself from Medieval Latin/Vulgar Latin formations related to equipping war engines; 'man' comes from Old English 'mann'. The compound 'artilleryman' developed in English to denote a person serving with artillery.

Initially it meant 'a person serving with or operating artillery'; over time the core meaning has remained stable, denoting soldiers assigned to artillery roles.