'chronicler' originates from Middle English, specifically the word 'chronicle' (with the agent suffix '-er'), where 'chron-' (from Greek 'chronos') meant 'time'.

'chronicle' came into Middle English from Old French 'cronique', from Latin 'chronica', which in turn came from Greek 'chronika' (from 'chronos' meaning 'time'). The agentive English form 'chronicler' developed by adding '-er' to denote 'one who writes chronicles'.

Initially it referred to a 'record or account of events arranged by time', but over time it also came to refer to 'a person who writes or compiles such records' (i.e., 'a recorder or historian').