'PABA-bound' originates from Modern English, specifically the abbreviation 'PABA' (from 'para-aminobenzoic acid') combined with the past participle/adjective 'bound', where 'para-' comes from Greek 'para' meaning 'beside', 'amino' denotes an amino group, and 'benzoic' relates to benzoic/benzoin origins.

'PABA' developed in 20th-century chemical nomenclature as an abbreviation of 'para-aminobenzoic acid', while 'bound' derives from Old English 'bindan' (to bind) and evolved through Middle English to the Modern English past participle 'bound'; the compound form 'PABA-bound' arose in technical/chemical contexts to describe molecules attached to PABA.

Initially the elements referred separately to the chemical name 'para-aminobenzoic acid' and the notion of being 'tied' or 'attached'; together as 'PABA-bound' they came to mean 'chemically attached to PABA', a technical usage that has been retained.