'methoxybenzene' is a modern chemical compound name formed by combining 'methoxy' and 'benzene'. 'Methoxy' derives from 'methyl' (from Greek roots related to 'methy' meaning 'wine' used historically for methyl group names) plus the suffix '-oxy' indicating an oxygen-containing group, while 'benzene' ultimately comes from names for benzoin resin.

'methoxybenzene' developed in 19th-century chemical nomenclature; earlier related terms included 'methoxylbenzol' or Germanic/French forms (using 'benzol' for benzene), and the common older trivial name for the single-methoxy benzene was 'anisole' before the systematic name was widely adopted.

Initially it named a specific benzene derivative bearing a methoxy group (often called 'anisole'); over time the systematic form 'methoxybenzene' came into use for clarity in nomenclature and now refers to that compound or the broader class when pluralized.