'ferritin' originates from New Latin, specifically from the Latin root 'ferrum', where 'ferr-' meant 'iron', combined with the protein-forming suffix '-in' (denoting a substance, often a protein).

'ferritin' was coined in modern scientific/medical usage by combining Latin 'ferrum' and the suffix '-in' and became established in English as the name for the iron-storage protein 'ferritin'.

Initially coined to denote an iron-containing substance (from 'ferrum' + '-in'), the term came to refer specifically to the cellular iron-storage protein now known as 'ferritin'.