The origin of 'apsara' is the Sanskrit अ सरस् , apsaras (in the stem form, which is the dictionary form).

NB
The stem form ends in 's' as distinct from, e.g. the nominative singular Ramas/Ramaḥ (the deity Ram in
Hindi), whose stem form is Rama. The nominative singular form is अ सरास् apsarās, or अ सरा: apsarāḥ
when standing alone, which becomes अ सरा apsarā in Hindi, from which in turn the English 'apsara'
presumably is derived. Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the etymology as: अप् + √सृ , "going in the
waters or between the waters of the clouds".

Through various historical semantic transformations, the word Apsara became pari in ancient Iranian
Vedic religion before its reformation by Zoroaster and then fairy in classical Western languages. 'Sa'
became 'Ha' in the latter apbrahmsa languages of mahajanapad period and Persian and so on.