'bauxite-deficient' is a compound formed from 'bauxite' + 'deficient'. 'bauxite' originates from French, specifically the place name 'Les Baux' and the French word 'bauxite' (coined in the early 19th century for the ore found near Les Baux). 'deficient' originates from Latin 'deficere' (via Late Latin/Old French), where the root meant 'to be lacking or fail'.

'bauxite' was named in 1821 by the French geologist Pierre Berthier after the locality 'Les Baux' and entered scientific English usage as 'bauxite'; 'deficient' comes from Latin 'deficere' → Late Latin 'deficiens' → Old French (and Medieval Latin) forms → Middle English and modern English 'deficient'. The compound 'bauxite-deficient' is a modern, descriptive compound formed by combining the mineral name with the adjective 'deficient'.

Individually, 'bauxite' originally referred to the ore discovered near Les Baux and has retained that mineralogical meaning; 'deficient' originally meant 'lacking' or 'insufficient', and that core sense has been preserved. The compound combines these preserved senses to mean 'lacking bauxite'.