'aulophobia' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'aulos' and 'phobos', where 'aulos' meant 'flute' and 'phobos' meant 'fear'.

'aulophobia' was formed in New Latin/modern coinage by combining the Greek root 'aulos' with the suffix '-phobia' (from 'phobos') and entered English as a technical/clinical term describing a specific fear.

Initially, it referred most directly to fear of the ancient Greek 'aulos' (a reed/flute-like instrument), but over time it has come to denote fear of flutes or similar wind instruments in general.