'harmine' originates from New Latin 'harmala' (via the plant name Peganum harmala) and the chemical/nomenclatural suffix '-ine' used for alkaloids and organic bases.

'harmine' was formed by combining the plant name 'harmala' (from Arabic 'ḥarmal') with the suffix '-ine' in modern chemical nomenclature, producing the name for the specific alkaloid isolated from the plant.

Initially, the element of the name referred to the source plant ('harmala'); over time it came to denote the distinct chemical compound isolated from that plant, i.e., the alkaloid 'harmine'.