'atracheate' originates from combining the prefix 'a-' (from Greek) meaning 'not' or 'without' and 'tracheate' (from 'trachea'), where 'trachea' ultimately comes from Greek 'trakhēía' meaning 'windpipe'.

'trachea' entered English via Latin/Medieval Latin from Greek 'trakhēía'. The adjective 'tracheate' (having tracheae) was formed from 'trachea' plus the adjectival suffix '-ate', and adding the privative prefix 'a-' produced 'atracheate' to mean 'without tracheae'.

Initially built to mean 'without a windpipe' in a general anatomical sense, it has come to be used specifically in biological and entomological contexts to mean 'lacking tracheae (the insect respiratory tubes)'.