'N-linked' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'nitrogenium', where 'nitro-' (from Greek 'nitron') meant 'nitre' (soda) and '-gen' meant 'producing'.

'N-linked' changed from the chemical locant 'N-' (used in organic/biochemical nomenclature to indicate a nitrogen atom) combined with the English past participle 'linked' and eventually became the modern English compound phrase 'N-linked' (as in 'N-linked glycosylation').

Initially it simply indicated attachment to a nitrogen atom in chemical notation, but over time it became specialized to mean glycan attachment to the nitrogen of an asparagine residue in proteins ('N-linked glycosylation').