'positivism' originates from French, specifically the word 'positivisme', where 'positif' (from Latin 'positus', past participle of 'ponere') meant 'placed' or 'established' and came to mean 'positive' (factual).

'positivisme' in French, coined and popularized in the early 19th century by Auguste Comte, was adopted into English as 'positivism' in the mid-19th century through translations and scholarly discussion of Comte's works.

Initially it referred primarily to Comte's program of basing social science on 'positive' (established, factual) knowledge; over time it broadened to the general philosophical stance that meaningful statements are those verifiable by empirical observation and to any attitude privileging empirical methods.