'annulation' originates from French, specifically the word 'annulation', ultimately from Latin 'annullatio' (from 'annullare'), where 'ad-' (or 'an-') meant 'to/toward' and 'nullus' meant 'none, not any'.

'annullare' in Latin developed into Old French forms such as 'anuler'/'annuler', and the noun form appeared in French as 'annulation' before being borrowed into modern English as 'annulation'.

Initially it meant 'the act of making void or invalid', and that core meaning remains; additionally, the term broadened in scientific contexts to denote 'the formation of ring-like structures'.