'azotorrhea' originates from New Latin/Greek combining forms: 'azoto-' (from French 'azote', ultimately from Greek 'azōtos') and '-rrhea' (from Greek 'rhein'), where 'azōtos' meant 'not life' (referring to nitrogen's inability to support life) and 'rhein' meant 'to flow'.

'azotorrhea' was formed in medical New Latin by combining the element 'azoto-' (derived from French 'azote', coined in the late 18th century) with the Greek-derived suffix '-rrhea' (used in medical terms to mean 'flow' or 'discharge'), producing the term used in English medical literature in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Initially the elements referred to 'nitrogen' ('azote') and 'flow/discharge' ('-rrhea'); over time the combined term came to be used specifically for the clinical observation of excessive excretion of nitrogenous material, especially in feces.