'calorie-rich' originates from the word 'calorie,' which comes from the French word 'calorie,' derived from the Latin 'calor,' meaning 'heat.' The suffix '-rich' indicates abundance or a high level of something.

'Calorie' was adopted into English in the early 19th century, and the term 'calorie-rich' emerged as a compound adjective to describe foods high in caloric content.

Initially, 'calorie' referred to a unit of heat, but it evolved to represent a unit of energy in food, leading to the modern usage of 'calorie-rich' to describe foods high in energy content.