'arabinoside' originates from New Latin/modern chemical naming, specifically from the word 'arabinose' + the chemical suffix '-ide', where 'arabinose' referred to the sugar first isolated from gum arabic and '-ide' denotes a derivative.

'arabinoside' was formed in modern chemical nomenclature from 'arabinose' (itself named in the 19th century from references to gum arabic and earlier forms such as French 'arabinose'/'arabine') plus the suffix '-ide'; the term entered scientific English via New Latin and chemical literature.

Initially, names related to 'arabinose' identified sugars isolated from gum arabic; over time 'arabinoside' came to mean more generally any glycoside containing an arabinose unit in modern biochemical nomenclature.