'cation-dependent' originates from the combination of the English scientific noun 'cation' and the adjective 'dependent'. 'cation' was coined in modern chemistry (19th century) from Greek-derived elements: 'ion' (Greek 'ion', "going") with the prefix 'cata-'/ 'kata-' (meaning 'down' in Greek) used in forming the term, and 'dependent' comes from Latin 'dependēns' (present participle of 'dependere'), where 'de-' meant 'down' and 'pendere' meant 'to hang'.

'cation' developed as a modern scientific formation in New Latin/English in the 19th century to name positively charged ions; 'dependent' passed into English via Old French and Middle English from Latin 'dependere'. The compound adjective 'cation-dependent' arose in scientific English by combining these elements to describe processes that rely on cations.

Initially the components referred separately to 'a positively charged ion' ('cation') and 'hanging/depending' ('dependent'); over time the compound came to mean specifically 'requiring the presence of cations to function', a technical usage in chemistry and biology.