'drumstick' originates from English, formed as a compound of 'drum' and 'stick', where 'drum' referred to the musical instrument and 'stick' meant a thin piece of wood.

'drum' comes via Middle English (e.g. 'drumme') and imitative forms for the instrument, while 'stick' comes from Old English or Old Norse roots such as 'sticca'; these elements combined in English to form the compound 'drumstick', used from the 18th century onwards.

Initially it meant 'a stick used to play a drum'; over time the term was extended by analogy to refer to a bird's leg sold as food, giving the modern additional meaning 'poultry leg'.