'arundinaria' originates from Latin, specifically from 'arundinarius' (from 'arundo, arundinis'), where 'arundo, arundinis' meant 'reed' and the suffix '-arius'/'-aria' indicated 'pertaining to'.

'arundinaria' was used in Medieval and Botanical Latin to denote reedlike plants; it was adopted as the scientific genus name 'Arundinaria' in modern botanical nomenclature.

Initially it meant 'pertaining to reeds' or 'of reeds', but over time it came to refer specifically to a genus of bamboo-like plants.