'cupid' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'Cupīdō,' where 'cupere' meant 'to desire' and the noun 'cupīdō' meant 'desire, longing,' later personified as the god of love.

'Cupīdō' passed into Old French as 'Cupide' and into Middle English as 'Cupide/Cupyd,' and eventually became the modern English word 'cupid'.

Initially, it meant 'desire or longing (as an abstract personification),' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'the Roman god of love and, by extension, a cherubic symbol of romantic love'.