The term 'styrene' originates from the genus name Styrax, a group of trees and shrubs known for producing a balsamic resin called storax. In the 19th century, chemists isolated a hydrocarbon from this resin and named it 'styrol'. The modern term 'styrene', denoting the monomer, was later formed by appending the standard chemical suffix '-ene', which designates compounds containing a carbon-carbon double bond. Thus, the word's journey is not from decomposable classical morphemes but from a botanical source through scientific nomenclature, directly linking the natural resin to the synthetic chemical compound.

The word is a modern chemical term formed in the 19th century. It is derived from the root of 'styrax', a tree genus yielding a fragrant resin, combined with the chemical suffix '-ene' indicating an unsaturated hydrocarbon.