'audient' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'audiēns' (present participle of 'audīre'), where the root 'audī-' meant 'to hear' and the suffix '-ēns' indicated 'present participle' ('-ing').

'audient' came into English via Medieval Latin/Old French forms (e.g. Medieval Latin 'audient‑' or Old French influenced spellings) and was adopted into Middle English with the sense 'hearing' or 'listening', eventually stabilizing as the modern English adjective and occasional noun 'audient'.

Initially it meant 'hearing' or 'being in the act of listening', and over time this developed into the modern senses of 'listening/attentive' (adjective) and 'a listener' (noun).