'axenic' originates from New Latin/Neo-Latin, specifically the word 'axenicus', where the prefix 'a-' meant 'without' and Greek 'xenos' meant 'foreign, strange'.

'axenic' derived from Greek 'axenos' (a- + xenos) and entered scientific usage via Late Latin/Neo-Latin forms such as 'axenicus', becoming the modern English term 'axenic' in microbiological contexts in the 20th century.

Initially it meant 'without foreign (organisms)', and over time the meaning has remained focused on 'free from other living organisms' especially in laboratory and microbiological usage.