'audiotape' originates from Modern English (20th century), formed as a compound of 'audio' and 'tape'; 'audio' comes via New Latin from Latin 'audire' meaning 'to hear', and 'tape' comes from Middle English 'tape' (from Germanic roots) meaning 'a strip or ribbon used for binding or recording'.

'audio' derived from Latin 'audire' (to hear) entered English via New/Modern Latin and combining form use; 'tape' existed in Middle English for a narrow strip; the compound 'audiotape' was coined in the 20th century with the advent of magnetic tape recording and became the common term for sound recordings on tape.

Initially coined to denote a 'strip of magnetic tape carrying recorded sound', the meaning has remained largely the same, though 'audiotape' can now sometimes refer more broadly to taped audio content (including archived or digitized versions).