'amine-preserving' originates from Modern English, specifically the combination of the noun 'amine' and the present-participial adjective 'preserving'. 'Amine' was coined in the 19th century from 'ammonia' with the suffix '-ine' meaning 'related to ammonia', and 'preserving' derives from Latin 'praeservare' meaning 'to keep safe.'

'Amine' entered scientific English in the mid-1800s (via French 'amine') as a term for derivatives of ammonia; 'preserve' comes from Old French 'preserver' / Latin 'praeservare'. In modern scientific English these elements combine into the compound adjective 'amine-preserving' to describe methods that keep amine groups intact.

Initially 'amine' referred specifically to chemical derivatives of ammonia and 'preserve' meant 'to keep safe'; together the compound evolved to mean 'keeping an amine functional group intact during a process' in contemporary usage.