'p-aminodiphenylamine' originates from a combination of elements: the locant 'p-' (short for 'para-') from Greek 'para' meaning 'beside', 'amino' from French/modern chemical usage 'amine' (ultimately from 'ammonia'), and 'diphenylamine' composed of Latin 'di-' meaning 'two' + 'phenyl' (a modern chemical term derived via Greek roots) + 'amine'.

'p-aminodiphenylamine' developed as modern chemical nomenclature standardized positional prefixes (para abbreviated as 'p-') and functional-group names in the 19th and 20th centuries; older or alternative forms include the systematic locant form '4-aminodiphenylamine' and various trade or common names.

Originally elements like 'amine' referred broadly to substances related to ammonia; over time 'amine' became the established name for the -NH2 functional group, and 'para-' came to denote substitution at the opposite positions on an aromatic ring, yielding the current specific structural meaning.