'arabinose' originates from Neo-Latin (formed in chemistry), specifically from the element referring to 'gum arabic' (from Arabic), where the stem 'arabi-' referred to 'of Arabia' and the suffix '-ose' denoted a sugar.

'arabinose' was coined in the 19th century in chemical nomenclature from the name of the source material 'gum arabic' (Latin/vernacular forms relating to 'arabic') plus the sugar suffix '-ose', and it eventually became the standard modern English chemical name 'arabinose'.

Initially the name pointed to a substance derived from gum arabic; over time it came to denote the specific chemical compound, the pentose sugar now called 'arabinose'.