'mitotic' originates from the word 'mitosis,' which comes from Greek, specifically the word 'mitos,' meaning 'thread,' referring to the thread-like appearance of chromosomes during cell division.

'mitosis' was coined in the late 19th century from Greek 'mitos' and the suffix '-osis,' and 'mitotic' was later formed as the adjective.

Initially, it referred specifically to the process of cell division involving threads (chromosomes), and now it broadly describes anything related to mitosis.