'para-aminobenzoic' originates from modern chemical nomenclature, combining the prefix 'para-' (from Greek 'para' meaning 'beside' or 'alongside'), 'amino' (from French 'amine', ultimately traced to 'ammonia'), and 'benzoic' (from 'benzoic acid').

'para-' is from Greek 'para' used in chemistry to indicate relative position on an aromatic ring; 'amino' derives from 19th-century chemical term 'amine' (from 'ammonia'); 'benzoic' traces to 'benzoë' (benzoin resin), via Medieval Latin and Arabic names for the resin, and later applied to benzoic acid in modern chemistry.

Initially the separate elements referred to 'beside' (para-), an 'amine' group, and 'benzoic' (from benzoin/benzoic acid); over time they combined into a single systematic descriptor meaning 'having an amino group at the para position of a benzoic acid ring.'