'artilleryman' originates from the English compound 'artillery' + 'man'. 'artillery' comes from Old French 'artillerie' meaning 'equipment (for war)', from the verb 'artillier' 'to equip', and 'man' comes from Old English 'mann' meaning 'person'.

'artillerie' (Old French) passed into Middle English as 'artillerie' meaning military engines or equipment; it later became modern English 'artillery'. The agentive suffix 'man' (Old English 'mann') was added to form 'artilleryman', meaning a person associated with artillery.

Initially 'artillery' referred to war machines or equipment; over time the sense broadened to include the personnel operating those weapons. Thus 'artilleryman' came to mean 'a soldier who serves in the artillery'.