'apiol' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'apiolum', where 'api-' comes from Latin 'apium' meaning 'parsley' and the chemical suffix '-ol' indicates an alcohol or related oxygen-containing group.

'apiol' changed from New Latin 'apiolum' and was adopted into modern European languages (e.g., French 'apiol') before entering English in the 19th century as the name for the parsley-derived compound.

Initially it referred generally to a substance from 'parsley'; over time it became the specific chemical name for the oily phenylpropene constituent extracted from parsley and related plants, noted for both medicinal uses and toxicity.