'avoidance' originates from Old French, ultimately from verb forms such as 'esvuidier'/'esvoider' (to empty, to get rid of), where the prefix 'es-' meant 'out' and the root relates to Latin 'vacare' (to be empty).

'avoidance' developed via Middle English forms like 'avoidaunce' (from Anglo-French/Middle French), which came from Old French verbal stems and eventually stabilized as the modern English 'avoidance'.

Initially it referred to 'making empty' or 'removing' (a more literal sense from Old French/Late Latin), but over time it shifted toward the sense of 'keeping away from' or 'shunning', now meaning the act of avoiding.