'aurifex' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'aurifex', where 'aurum' meant 'gold' and the element '-fex' (from 'facio') meant 'maker'.

'aurifex' comes from classical Latin 'aurifex' and continued in Medieval/ Late Latin; it was occasionally borrowed into English in learned or antiquarian contexts as 'aurifex'.

Initially, it meant 'maker of gold' in Latin; over time it has been used in English to mean 'goldsmith' and today is a rare or archaic term for that occupation.