'assafetida' originates from Medieval Latin, specifically the phrase 'asa foetida', where 'asa' referred to a resin and 'foetida' meant 'foul-smelling'.

'asa foetida' in Medieval Latin became 'asafoetida' in later Latin/early modern usage and was adopted into English as 'assafetida' (with variant spelling 'asafoetida').

Initially, the term literally meant 'foul-smelling resin'; over time it came to denote the specific culinary and medicinal resin (and the spice made from it) used in cooking and traditional medicine.