'melittological' originates from Modern Latin/Greek, specifically from Greek 'melitta' or 'melissa' meaning 'bee' and the Greek element '-logia' (from 'logos') meaning 'study' or 'discourse'.

'melittological' developed from New Latin/Neo‑Greek 'melittologia' (the study of bees), which entered English as 'melittology' (a noun meaning 'study of bees'), and the adjective form 'melittological' was formed by adding the English adjective-forming suffix '-ical' to the noun stem.

Initially it referred specifically to matters 'of or pertaining to the study of bees'; over time it has retained that specialized meaning and is used for topics relating to bee biology and melittological research.