'baryte' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'barys' and 'lithos', where 'barys' meant 'heavy' and 'lithos' meant 'stone'.

'baryte' changed from Neo-Latin/Modern scientific Latin 'barytēs' and passed into languages such as German 'Baryt' and French 'baryte' before becoming the modern English word 'baryte'.

Initially, it meant 'heavy stone', but over time it evolved into its current meaning referring specifically to the mineral barium sulfate.