'o-anisaldehyde' is formed from 'anisaldehyde' (from 'anise' + 'aldehyde') with the prefix 'o-' indicating the ortho position; 'anise' comes from Latin 'anisum' (from Greek 'ánison') and 'aldehyde' is from German 'Alkoholdehyd' (coined in 19th century chemical nomenclature).

'anisaldehyde' emerged in 19th-century chemical literature referring to an aldehyde associated with anise oil; positional prefixes such as 'o-' (ortho) were later applied in aromatic nomenclature to specify substitution patterns, producing the modern name 'o-anisaldehyde'.

Initially, the term referred broadly to an aldehyde component found in anise oil; over time it became a specific systematic name for the compound 2-methoxybenzaldehyde, used in synthesis and fragrance chemistry.