'cellarway' originates from Modern English compound formation of 'cellar' and 'way'. 'cellar' comes from older sources meaning 'storeroom' and 'way' means 'path' or 'route'.

'cellarway' formed as a compound from Middle English elements 'cellar' (from Old French celier / Anglo-Norman and ultimately Latin 'cellarium') and Old English 'weg' (which became Modern English 'way'), producing the modern compound meaning 'passage to a cellar'.

Initially, the components separately referred to a 'storeroom' and a 'way'; over time the compound came to mean specifically a passage leading to a cellar.