'dye-reactive' is a Modern English compound formed from 'dye' and 'reactive'. 'dye' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'dēag' (Middle English 'deye'), where it meant 'a coloring substance'. 'reactive' originates from Latin (via French), specifically from the Latin prefix 're-' meaning 'again' and the root 'agere' meaning 'to do, to drive', which passed into French as 'réactif' and then into English as 'reactive'.

'dye-reactive' developed as a term in the context of industrial dyeing and textile chemistry in the late 19th to 20th century; the components evolved: 'dye' changed from Old English 'dēag' to Middle English 'deye' and then to modern 'dye', while 'reactive' entered English from French 'réactif' (from Latin roots) and combined with 'dye' to describe materials or dyes that undergo chemical reactions during dyeing.

Initially related simply to 'dye' (a coloring substance) and 'react' (to respond), the compound came to mean specifically 'capable of forming a chemical reaction with dye'—in textile chemistry this now often implies formation of a covalent bond between dye and fiber.