'asthenobiotic' originates from Greek combining forms, specifically 'astheno-' from 'asthenēs' meaning 'weak' and 'biotic' from 'bios' meaning 'life'.

'asthenobiotic' was coined in modern scientific/Neo-Latin and English by combining the classical Greek elements 'astheno-' + 'biotic' to describe agents or conditions affecting vigor or producing weakness in biological or medical contexts.

Initially formed to describe concepts relating to 'life' and 'weakness' in technical contexts, its usage has come to denote 'causing or relating to weakness' (i.e., producing debility) in current specialized usage.