'cataloguer' originates from English, specifically the word 'catalogue' with the agentive suffix '-er', where 'catalogue' comes from Late Latin 'catalogus' and ultimately from Greek 'katalogos' (from 'kata-' meaning 'down' or 'according to' and 'logos' meaning 'word, account, or listing').

'cataloguer' changed from the Middle English/Modern English noun and verb forms based on Old French/Medieval Latin; Greek 'katalogos' passed into Late Latin as 'catalogus', into Old French/Medieval Latin as 'catalogue', into Middle English as 'catalogue', and the agent noun form 'cataloguer' developed in English by adding '-er'.

Initially, the root meant 'a list or register' (a catalogue); over time agentive forms developed so that 'cataloguer' came to mean 'a person who creates or compiles such a list'.