'carbohydrate-derived' originates from English, formed by the compound 'carbohydrate' + the past participle 'derived', where 'carbohydrate' ultimately traces to French/Modern Latin combining 'carbo-' (from Latin 'carbo' meaning 'coal' or 'carbon') and Greek 'hydor' (ὕδωρ) meaning 'water', and 'derived' comes from Latin 'derivare' meaning 'to lead or draw off'.

'carbohydrate' entered scientific English in the 19th century (via French 'carbohydrate' from Modern Latin), and 'derive' came into English from Latin through Old French and Middle English ('deriver'/'derive'), yielding the past participle 'derived'; combined as a descriptive compound ('carbohydrate-derived') in modern scientific usage.

Initially, 'carbohydrate' described substances of 'carbon + water' composition; over time the word remained tied to sugars and related molecules, and 'carbohydrate-derived' came to mean 'obtained from or produced by carbohydrates' in contemporary scientific contexts.