'aspidochirota' originates from New Latin, ultimately from Greek elements 'aspis' meaning 'shield' and 'cheir' meaning 'hand', combined in a taxonomic formation to denote 'shield‑handed' forms.

'aspidochirota' was used in older zoological literature (often as 'Aspidochirotida' or similar New Latin endings) to name an order or subgroup of Holothuroidea; later systematic revisions split or redistributed these taxa into other orders and the term fell out of regular use.

Initially it literally referenced 'shield‑handed' morphology (tentacles or podia resembling a shielded hand); over time it became a formal taxonomic name for a group of sea cucumbers and has since become mostly an obsolete/classificatory historical term.