'authorling' originates from English, specifically formed from the word 'author' (ultimately from Latin 'auctor'), combined with the diminutive suffix '-ling', where '-ling' meant 'young' or 'descendant' (from Old English '-ling', from Proto-Germanic '*-lingaz').

'authorling' was created in Early Modern English by adding the suffix '-ling' to 'author' (which came into English via Old French 'autor' from Latin 'auctor'), and it developed as a pejorative formation meaning a small or insignificant author.

Initially the suffix '-ling' indicated 'young' or 'offspring of'; over time the compound 'authorling' acquired the specific pejorative sense 'a small or inferior author'.