'avichi' originates from Sanskrit and Pali, specifically the word 'Avīci' (Sanskrit) / 'Avici' (Pali), where the prefix 'a-' meant 'not' and the element related to 'vīci' implied 'waves' or 'disturbance,' yielding the sense 'without waves' (i.e., without respite).

'avichi' entered English as a transliteration from Pali 'Avici' and Sanskrit 'Avīci' through Buddhist studies and translations in the 19th century, becoming the English form 'avichi'.

Initially it meant 'without waves' or 'without disturbance' (a literal phrase describing lack of interruption); over time it came to denote specifically the lowest Buddhist hell characterized by unrelenting suffering.