'insectivore' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'insectivorus', where 'insect-' meant 'insect' (from Latin 'insectum', literally 'cut into') and '-vorus' meant 'devouring' (from Latin 'vorare', 'to devour').

'insectivore' changed from New Latin word 'insectivorus' and eventually became the modern English word 'insectivore'; the related taxonomic name 'Insectivora' was coined in 19th-century zoology.

Initially, it meant 'an animal that eats insects', and this core meaning has largely remained; additionally the term was used as a taxonomic group name ('Insectivora'), a usage that has since been revised.