'averroism' originates from the proper name 'Averroes' (the Latinized form of the Arabic name Ibn Rushd), combined with the English suffix '-ism' (from Greek '-ismos' via Latin/Old French) meaning 'doctrine, system, or practice.'

'Averroes' comes from the Arabic name 'Ibn Rushd' (ابن رشد). The Latin medieval form 'Averroes' (and Late Latin 'Averroismus') was used by scholastic writers; from these formed the English term 'averroism' to denote the doctrines associated with him and the related movement in medieval Europe.

Initially, it specifically denoted the teachings of Averroes; over time it came to refer more broadly to the medieval school influenced by those teachings and, in later usage, sometimes to any rationalistic or secularizing tendency contrasted with orthodox theology.