'carbohydrate-storing' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'carbohydrate' and the present participle 'storing'. 'carbohydrate' ultimately derives from New Latin (from Greek elements karbōn 'carbon' and hydr- 'water'), and 'store' comes via Old French from Germanic/Latin roots meaning 'to put away' or 'keep'.

'carbohydrate' entered scientific English in the 19th century (from phrases like 'hydrate of carbon'); the compound form 'carbohydrate-storing' is a later modern English formation that joins the noun with a present participle to form an attributive adjective.

Initially, 'carbohydrate' referred to chemical compounds viewed as 'hydrates of carbon'; over time the term retained its chemical sense while compounds like 'carbohydrate-storing' developed as descriptive terms in biology to indicate the function of storing such compounds.