'azotate' originates from French, specifically the word 'azotate', where 'azote' (from Greek 'azōtos') came to denote 'nitrogen'.

'azotate' entered scientific English from French 'azotate' in the 19th century, the French term itself being formed from 'azote' which was coined to name the gaseous element now called nitrogen.

Initially, it meant a compound or salt related to 'azote' (i.e. nitrogen), often used for nitrates or nitrogenous salts; over time the term has become rare or archaic in English, with 'nitrate' or 'nitrogen compound' preferred.