'androgenic-promoting' is a modern English compound formed from 'androgenic' and 'promoting'. 'androgenic' derives from Greek elements 'andr-' meaning 'man' and '-genic' meaning 'producing', and 'promoting' comes from Latin 'promovere' meaning 'to move forward' or 'to advance'.

'androgenic' developed via New Latin 'androgen' (from Greek 'andr-' + '-gene') into English as 'androgen' and then 'androgenic'; 'promote' came from Latin 'promovere' into Old French and Middle English as 'promoten' and then modern English 'promote'; the compound is a recent coinage in technical and clinical contexts.

Initially, the parts meant 'man-producing' (androgenic) and 'to move forward' (promote); combined in modern usage they denote 'causing or enhancing male-hormone effects'.