'azole' originates from the combining form 'azo-' (from French 'azote') plus the diminutive/suffix '-ole'; 'azo-' referred to 'nitrogen' (from French 'azote') and '-ole' indicated a small ring or related chemical suffix.

'azote' comes from French 'azote', which itself was coined from Greek elements 'a-' (not) + 'zōē' (life) to name nitrogen; the chemical combining form 'azo-' was adopted in 19th-century nomenclature and later combined with the suffix '-ole' to form the term 'azole' for specific five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocycles.

Initially related to the concept of 'nitrogen' (via 'azote'/'azo-'), the term evolved to denote a specific class of nitrogen-containing five-membered heterocycles and, by extension, the antifungal agents that contain that ring.