'azelaic' originates from Modern Latin, specifically the word 'azelaicum', where the form referred to the acid later named azelaic acid (the dicarboxylic acid obtained historically by oxidative cleavage of unsaturated fatty acids).

'azelaicum' (Modern Latin, used in 19th-century chemical literature) passed into English chemical terminology as 'azelaic' during the 19th century as the acid became characterized.

Initially, the term designated the specific acid isolated and described in chemical literature; over time it has remained a specialized term meaning 'of or relating to azelaic acid' or shorthand for the acid itself.