'aquilon' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'Aquilōn' or 'Aquilo', where 'Aquilōn' referred to the north wind.

'aquilon' changed from Latin 'Aquilo' (or 'Aquilōn') into Old French/Medieval Latin forms such as 'aquilon', entered Middle English in similar form, and eventually became the modern English word 'aquilon'.

Initially, it meant 'the north wind' and was often personified as a deity; over time it has remained close to that sense but is now chiefly archaic or poetic, meaning 'a cold north wind' or simply 'north wind'.