'azole' originates from modern chemical formation combining the prefix 'azo-' (from French 'azote', ultimately from Greek 'azotos') and the suffix '-ole' used for small heterocyclic compounds; 'azo-' related to nitrogen in chemical nomenclature.

'azole' was formed in 19th–20th century chemical nomenclature by joining 'azo-' and '-ole' to name nitrogen-containing heterocycles and eventually became the standard modern English term 'azole'.

Initially the element 'azo-' referred broadly to nitrogen-related chemical groups; over time 'azole' came to denote specifically five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic rings and, by extension, the class of antifungal agents derived from them.