'bacterioscopist' originates from New Latin/Greek elements: from Greek 'bakterion' meaning 'small staff' (used in New Latin as 'bacterium' for rod-shaped microbes) combined with Greek 'skopein' meaning 'to look' (via the noun-forming element '-scopy/‑scopist'), and the agent suffix '-ist' (from Greek '-istes') meaning 'one who practices or is concerned with'.

'bacterioscopist' developed from 'bacterioscopy' (the examination of bacteria) + English agent suffix '-ist'. 'Bacterium' came into New Latin from Greek 'bakterion' and combined with forms based on Greek 'skopein' (to look) to create 'bacterioscopy' in medical usage, later yielding the agent noun 'bacterioscopist'.

Initially rooted in elements meaning 'small staff' (bacterion) and 'to look' (skopein), the composite term came to mean specifically 'a person who inspects or examines bacteria' in a laboratory or clinical context.