'banksian' originates from English, specifically from the surname 'Banks' (ultimately from Old Norse 'banki'), where the root 'bank' meant 'ridge' or 'slope'.

'Banksian' developed as an English adjectival form (often Latinized in botanical usage as 'Banksianus') to denote things associated with Sir Joseph Banks or his collections, and later entered general English as 'banksian'.

Initially it meant 'of or relating to the collections or work of Joseph Banks' (especially in botanical Latin), and it has remained broadly in that sense, also coming to mean 'characteristic of Banks or his approach' in descriptive contexts.