'electricity-hungry' originates from compounding the nouns/adjectives 'electricity' and 'hungry'; 'electricity' ultimately from Greek 'ēlektron' meaning 'amber' (source of terms for electric phenomena), and 'hungry' from Old English 'hungrig' related to 'hungor' meaning 'hunger'.

'electricity' entered English via French 'électricité' (from Latinized forms of Greek 'ēlektron'), while 'hungry' developed from Old English 'hungrig' to Middle English 'hungry'; in modern English they were compounded to form the descriptive adjective 'electricity-hungry'.

Originally, 'hungry' meant 'desiring food'; in compounds it broadened metaphorically to mean 'strongly desiring or consuming a lot of something', leading to 'electricity-hungry' meaning 'consuming much electrical power'.