'Asian' originates from the place-name 'Asia', specifically from Greek 'Asía', where the name is thought to be ultimately derived from a Semitic word (e.g., Akkadian 'asu') associated with 'east' or 'sunrise'.

'Asia' was used in Classical Greek for lands east of Greece; it passed into Latin as 'Asia', then into Old French and Middle English as 'Asie'/'Asia'. The adjective 'Asian' was formed in English by adding the suffix '-an' to the place-name.

Initially it referred to the geographic region 'Asia'; over time it also came to denote people from that region and to function as an adjective describing things related to Asia.