'areola' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'areola', where 'area' meant 'open space' and the diminutive suffix '-ola' indicated 'small'.

'areola' passed from Latin (and Medieval/Late Latin) into English (borrowed in scientific and anatomical contexts) and came to be used as 'areola' (plural 'areolae' or regularized 'areolas').

Initially it meant 'small open space' in Latin, but over time it came to mean a 'small circular area' and, in anatomy, the pigmented circle around the nipple.