'abfarad' originates from the combination of the prefix 'ab-' indicating the CGS electromagnetic unit system and 'farad', named after Michael Faraday, a pioneer in electromagnetism.

'abfarad' was coined in the early 20th century as part of the CGS system of units, which was eventually replaced by the International System of Units (SI).

Initially, it meant a large unit of capacitance in the CGS system, and this meaning has remained consistent.