'asarone' originates from New Latin (botanical usage), specifically the plant name 'asarum'/'Acorus' used for certain aromatic medicinal plants, where the plant name referred to aromatic roots (calamus/wild ginger).

'asarone' was coined in the 19th century in chemical literature after the compound was isolated from the essential oil of plants such as Acorus calamus; the botanical name (New Latin) was adapted into a chemical name with the suffix '-one' common in organic chemistry naming.

Initially the term was tied to a substance obtained from the botanical source ('a compound from asarum/acorus'), but over time it came to denote the specific aromatic phenylpropene isomers (α- and β-asarone) recognized in chemistry and toxicology.