'anthracen-9(10H)-one' originates from 'anthracene' plus the suffix '-one', where 'anthrax' (Greek) meant 'coal' and the suffix '-one' denotes a ketone functional group.

'anthracene' was named from Greek 'anthrax' because it was obtained from coal tar; the ketone suffix '-one' (from 19th-century chemical nomenclature) combined with the anthracene root to form systematic names such as 'anthracen-9(10H)-one' (commonly called 'anthrone').

Initially the root referred to 'coal' (source of the parent hydrocarbon); over time the compound name evolved to specify a ketone derivative of anthracene and to function as a systematic chemical name.