'acoustic-absorbing' originates from English, specifically from the element 'acoustic' (from Greek 'akoustikos') and 'absorbing' (from Latin 'absorbere'), where 'akouein' meant 'to hear' and 'ab-' + 'sorbere' meant 'away' + 'to suck in'.

'acoustic' entered English via Latin and French from Greek 'akoustikos'; 'absorb' comes from Latin 'absorbere' which passed into Middle English as 'ab-sorben' and modernized to 'absorb'; the compound 'acoustic-absorbing' is a modern English combination of these elements used in technical contexts.

Initially, the roots meant 'relating to hearing' and 'to take in or suck away'; over time, combined as a compound the meaning evolved into the modern technical sense 'capable of taking in or dissipating sound energy.'