The word ghazal originates from the Arabic word غزل (ġazal). This genre of Arabic poetry is derived from غَزَل (ḡazal) or غَزِلَ (ḡazila) - To sweet-talk, to flirt, to display amorous gestures. The Arabic word غزل ġazal is pronounced [ˈɣazal]. In English, the word is pronounced /ˈɡʌzəl/ or /ˈɡæzæl/.

Ghazal is an indirect Quranic name for girls that means love poem, or any poetry expressing strong emotion. It also means anything said in a sweet and melodious voice, affecting the person who hears it. It is derived from the Gh-Z-L root (yarn, love-speak, gazelle)which is used in the Quran in Surat an-Nahl: Gender Boy.

The Urdu ghazal is a literary form of the ghazal-poetry unique to the Indian subcontinent, written in the Urdu standard of the Hindostani language. It is commonly asserted that the ghazal spread to South Asia from the influence of Sufi mystics in the Delhi Sultanate.