'animal-tested' originates from Modern English, specifically a compound of 'animal' and the past participle 'tested', where 'animal' ultimately comes from Latin 'animalis' (from 'anima') meaning 'living being, breath' and 'test(ed)' comes from Germanic/Old French/Middle English usage of 'test'/'tester' meaning 'to try or examine'.

'animal' entered English via Old French and Latin ('animalis' from 'anima'), and 'test' developed in Middle English from Old French forms related to trying or examining; in Modern English the components were combined into the compound adjective 'animal-tested' to describe items subjected to animal experiments.

Initially, the parts meant 'living being' (animal) and 'to try/examine' (test); over time the compound came to mean 'subjected to tests using animals' and is used especially for products evaluated through animal experiments.