'Buddha-related' originates from English compounding of the word 'Buddha' and the past-participial adjective 'related'. 'Buddha' comes from Sanskrit 'Buddha' (बुद्ध), where the root 'budh-' meant 'to wake, to know.' 'Related' comes via Latin 'relatus', the past participle of 'referre', where 're-' meant 'back' and 'ferre' meant 'to carry.'

'Buddha' entered English from Sanskrit/Pali (through early scholarly and missionary use) retaining the meaning 'the awakened one.' 'Related' entered English via Old French and Middle English from Latin 'relatus' and developed into the modern adjective 'related.' The compound 'Buddha-related' is a modern English formation combining these elements to mean 'pertaining to Buddha or Buddhism.'

Initially, 'Buddha' meant 'the awakened one' (a title for Siddhartha Gautama), and 'related' originally meant 'brought back' (from Latin). Over time the compound came to mean simply 'connected with or pertaining to the Buddha or Buddhism.'