'aniline-philic' originates from the compound of 'aniline' (from French 'aniline') and the suffix '-philic' (from Greek 'philos'), where 'aniline' traces to 'anil' meaning 'indigo' and '-philic' meant 'loving' or 'having an affinity for'.

'aniline' entered scientific English in the early 19th century from French 'aniline', ultimately from Spanish/Arabic 'anil' meaning indigo; the suffix '-philic' is a Modern Scientific formation derived from Greek 'philos' used in 19th–20th century chemistry to form adjectives meaning 'having an affinity for'. The compound 'aniline-philic' is a recent descriptive coinage formed by joining these elements.

Initially 'aniline' referred to indigo dye (the source word 'anil'); in the 19th century it came to denote the chemical aniline derived from indigo processing. Combined with '-philic', the modern compound means 'having affinity for aniline', a specific technical sense used in chemistry and materials science.