'asbestos-free' originates from English, formed by combining the noun 'asbestos' and the adjective 'free'. 'Asbestos' comes from Greek 'asbestos' (ἄσβεστος), where the root meant 'inextinguishable', and 'free' comes from Old English 'frēo', meaning 'not in bondage; exempt'.

'asbestos' entered scientific and common English via Latin and Medieval use from the Greek word 'asbestos' and came to name the fibrous mineral; 'free' developed from Old English 'frēo' into modern English 'free' and later into compound uses (e.g., 'X-free') to mean 'without X', producing the compound 'asbestos-free' in modern usage.

Initially, the Greek 'asbestos' meant 'inextinguishable' and later became the name of the mineral now called asbestos; 'free' originally meant 'not in bondage' and evolved into an element meaning 'without' in compounds. Together they now mean 'without asbestos'.