'Smyrnium' originates from botanical/Modern Latin, specifically from the Greek word 'σμύρνιον' (smyrnion), a diminutive of 'σμύρνα' (smyrna) meaning 'myrrh' (a resin with a fragrant odor).

'Smyrnium' derives from Greek 'σμύρνιον' > taken into Medieval/Modern Latin as 'Smyrnium' in herbal and botanical contexts, and later adopted in Linnaean botanical nomenclature as the genus name 'Smyrnium'.

Initially, the root referred to 'myrrh' or something 'myrrh-like' (noting scent); over time the term became fixed as the botanical name for a genus of aromatic plants in the Apiaceae family.