'annotto' originates from Spanish, specifically the word 'achiote', ultimately from Nahuatl 'achiotl' where the term referred to the seed/fruit of the Bixa orellana plant used as a pigment and spice.

'annotto' changed from the Nahuatl word 'achiotl' into Spanish 'achiote', passed into Portuguese/French as forms like 'anatto', and eventually entered English as 'annatto' with variant spellings such as 'annotto'.

Initially it meant 'the seed or fruit of the Bixa tree (used locally as pigment/condiment)'; over time it has continued to mean the seed and the reddish-orange pigment or coloring derived from it.