'arytenoid' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'arytenoideus' (or 'arytenoides'), where the element 'aryten-' comes from Greek 'arytaina' meaning 'ladle' and the suffix '-oid' (from Greek '-oeidēs') meant 'like' or 'resembling'.

'arytenoid' changed from Greek 'arytaina' (a ladle-shaped object) into Late/New Latin 'arytenoides'/'arytenoideus' and eventually entered English as the anatomical term 'arytenoid' with the derived adjective form 'arytenoidal'.

Initially it meant 'ladle-shaped' (shape descriptor), but over time it became specialized to denote structures (the arytenoid cartilages) in the larynx and things relating to them.