'aryballos' originates from Ancient Greek, specifically the word 'ἀρύβαλλος' (aryballos), where it referred to a small spherical oil-flask used to hold perfumes or oils.

'aryballos' passed into Latin as 'aryballus' and was later borrowed into modern scholarly and museum terminology in English as 'aryballos', retaining its reference to the same type of vessel.

Initially it referred specifically to that particular small ancient oil flask; over time the meaning has remained largely unchanged and is now used primarily in archaeological and art-historical contexts.