'avenin' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'Avena', where 'Avena' meant 'oat', combined with the protein-forming suffix '-in'.

'avenin' was formed by attaching the suffix '-in' (used in biochemistry to name proteins) to the Latin genus name 'Avena' and entered modern scientific English usage in the 19th–20th century as the term for oat storage proteins.

Initially, it meant 'a protein from Avena (oats)', and this meaning has largely remained, now referring more specifically to the group of prolamin storage proteins in oats.