'carbonic' originates from 'carbon', which comes from French 'carbone', itself from Latin 'carbo', meaning 'coal' or 'charcoal'. The suffix '-ic' is used to form adjectives meaning 'of or pertaining to'.

'carbo' in Latin became 'carbone' in French, then 'carbon' in English, and with the addition of '-ic', formed 'carbonic'.

Initially, it referred to anything pertaining to carbon, but over time, it became more specifically associated with compounds containing carbon dioxide or carbonic acid.