'ketone' originates from German, specifically the word 'Keton', where 'ket-' referred to 'acetone' and '-on' was a suffix used in chemistry.

'Keton' transformed into the English word 'ketone', and eventually became the modern English word 'ketone'.

Initially, it meant 'a chemical compound containing a carbonyl group bonded to two hydrocarbon groups', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.