'anilino-phile' originates from a combination of 'anilino-' (from 'aniline') and the suffix '-phile' (from Greek 'philos' meaning 'loving'). 'Aniline' itself entered European languages from Portuguese 'anil' (from Arabic 'al-nīl', meaning 'indigo'), later adapted into French as 'aniline'.

'aniline' came into scientific English via French 'aniline', which derived from Portuguese 'anil' (from Arabic 'al-nīl'). The suffix '-phile' comes from Greek 'philos' and passed into New Latin and Modern English as '-phile' to form compounds meaning 'lover of' or 'having affinity for'. The modern compound 'anilino-phile' is a recent, mostly technical/coinage formation combining these elements.

Initially, elements like 'anilino-' referred specifically to substances related to indigo/aniline; over time, when combined with '-phile' the meaning evolved into 'one who likes or has affinity for aniline (or anilino groups)', used both informally for people and descriptively in chemistry.