'bacterioblast' is formed from the combining form 'bacterio-' (from Greek 'bakterion' meaning 'small rod' or 'staff') plus the suffix '-blast' (from Greek 'blastós' meaning 'germ' or 'sprout').

'bacterioblast' was coined in modern scientific (New Latin/English) usage in the late 19th to early 20th century as microbiology developed; it combined classical roots rather than evolving from a single earlier English word.

Initially used to label tiny reproductive or bud-like structures observed in bacteria, the term came to refer more generally to young bacterial cells and is now largely rare or replaced by more specific terms in modern bacteriology.