'clot-promoting' originates from a combination of 'clot' (from Old English 'clott') and the present-participle form of 'promote', which ultimately comes from Latin 'promovere', where 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'movere' meant 'to move'.

'clot' changed from the Old English word 'clott' (meaning 'lump'); 'promovere' passed into Old French (e.g. 'promouvoir') and Middle English as 'promoten'/'promoten' leading to Modern English 'promote'; the adjectival compound 'clot-promoting' is a modern English formation combining these elements to describe agents that promote clot formation.

Initially, 'clot' meant 'lump' and 'promote' meant 'to move forward or advance'; combined in Modern English the compound came to mean 'encouraging the formation of blood clots'.