'auctioneer' originates from English, formed from the noun 'auction' + the agent suffix '-eer' (from French/Middle English), where 'auction' ultimately derives from Latin 'auctio' meaning 'a sale' or 'increase'.

'auction' comes from Latin 'auctio' (from 'augere' 'to increase'), passed into Old French and Middle English as 'auctioun'/'auction' and later combined with the agent-forming suffix '-eer' (from Middle French '-ier'/'-ier') to form 'auctioneer' in Early Modern English.

Initially related to the idea of 'increase' or 'a sale by bidding' in Latin, it evolved to mean specifically 'the person who conducts a sale by bidding' and, by extension, 'to conduct such a sale'.