'assemblywoman' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'assembly' + 'woman', used to denote a female member of an assembly.

'assembly' entered English from Old French 'assemblée' (meaning 'a gathering'), while 'woman' derives from Old English 'wīfmann' ('wīf' + 'mann' meaning 'female person'); these elements were combined in Modern English to form 'assemblywoman'.

Initially the component words meant 'a gathering' and 'an adult female person'; over time the compound came to mean specifically 'a female member of a legislative assembly'.