'alamire' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'a la mi re', where 'a' referred to the note A, 'la' and 'mi' were solmization syllables, and 're' was another solmization syllable.

'a la mi re' was used in medieval music notation and eventually became the term 'alamire' in modern musicology.

Initially, it referred to a specific note in the hexachord system, and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.