'barycentre' originates from Modern Latin, specifically the word 'barycentrum', where 'bary-' meant 'heavy' and 'centrum' meant 'center'.

'barycentre' changed from New Latin 'barycentrum' and French 'barycentre' and eventually entered modern English as 'barycentre', ultimately deriving from Greek elements 'barys' and 'kentron'.

Initially it meant 'heavy center' (a literal combination of the roots), but over time it evolved into the technical term meaning 'center of mass' used in physics and astronomy.