'allophone' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'allophonos,' where 'allo-' meant 'other' and 'phonos' meant 'sound.'

'allophonos' transformed into the English word 'allophone' through linguistic studies in the 20th century.

Initially, it meant 'other sound,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'phonetic variation of a phoneme.'