'emotion-suppressant' originates from English, a compound of 'emotion' and 'suppressant'; 'emotion' ultimately comes from Latin 'emotio'/'emovere' where 'e-' (ex-) meant 'out' and 'movere' meant 'to move', and 'suppressant' derives from Latin 'suppressus' from 'supprimere' where 'sup-' (sub-) meant 'under' and 'primere' (premere) meant 'to press'.

'emotion' entered English via Old French (emouvoir/emotion) from Latin 'emotio'; 'suppressant' developed from Latin 'supprimere' to Old French 'supprimer' and Middle English 'suppress'; the modern English agent noun 'suppressant' arose in the 19th–20th century and was later combined with 'emotion' to form the compound 'emotion-suppressant'.

Initially the roots separately meant 'to move out' (emotion) and 'to press down' (suppress). Over time, combining them produced the modern sense: 'an agent that presses down or reduces emotions.'