'biofilm-supporting' originates from the combination of the noun 'biofilm' and the present participle 'supporting' (from 'support'). 'Biofilm' itself is a compound of 'bio-' from Greek 'bios' meaning 'life' and 'film' meaning a thin layer; 'support' comes from Latin roots meaning 'to carry from below'.

'biofilm' developed in modern scientific English by combining Greek-derived 'bio-' and English 'film' to denote a living-film layer; 'support' originates from Latin 'supportare' → Old French 'soutenir'/'supporter' → Middle English 'supporten', and the present participle formed the adjective 'supporting'. These parts combined in contemporary technical usage to create 'biofilm-supporting'.

Individually, 'bio-' originally meant 'life' and 'film' meant a thin layer; 'support' originally meant 'to carry from below.' Over time in scientific contexts 'biofilm' came to mean a structured microbial community on a surface, and 'support' broadened to mean 'provide conditions for'—thus 'biofilm-supporting' now means 'providing conditions that favor biofilm formation.'