'crucifer' originates from Medieval Latin, specifically the word 'crucifer', where 'cruci-' from Latin 'crux' meant 'cross' and '-fer' meant 'bearing' or 'carrying'.

'crucifer' changed from Medieval Latin 'crucifer' into Middle English (keeping the same form) and eventually became the modern English word 'crucifer'.

Initially, it meant 'one who bears or carries a cross' (literal, often in a religious context); over time the term also came to be applied in botany to plants whose flowers appear cross-shaped, giving the secondary meaning 'member of the Cruciferae/Brassicaceae'.