'aumbry' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'aumberie' (also written 'almerie'), where the Late Latin/Latin root 'armarium' meant 'chest, cupboard'.

'aumbry' changed from Old French 'aumberie'/'almerie' into Middle English forms such as 'aumbrie' or 'ambry' and eventually became the modern English 'aumbry' (plural 'aumbries').

Initially it meant 'a chest or cupboard for storing items', but over time it came to refer more specifically to 'a cupboard or recessed niche in a church for sacred vessels or the reserved sacrament'.