'enzyme-inhibiting' originates as a compound of 'enzyme' and 'inhibit'. 'Enzyme' comes from New Latin/Modern scientific use, ultimately from Greek 'enzymon' where 'en-' meant 'in' and 'zyme' meant 'leaven' or 'zymē'. 'Inhibit' comes from Latin 'inhibēre', where the prefix 'in-' meant 'in' (or 'against' in some uses) and 'hibēre' (related to 'habēre') meant 'to hold (back).'

'enzyme' passed into modern scientific English from Greek via New Latin as 'enzymon' → 'enzyme'. 'inhibit' entered English from Latin 'inhibēre' (via scientific/medical Latin and later borrowings) and became 'inhibit' in Early Modern English; combining the noun 'enzyme' with the present-participial form of 'inhibit' produced the compound adjective 'enzyme-inhibiting'.

Initially, 'zyme' in Greek referred to 'leaven' (substances that cause fermentation) and 'inhibēre' originally meant 'to hold in' or 'restrain'. Over time the combined modern term came to mean specifically 'able to prevent or slow the action of enzymes' in biochemical and pharmacological contexts.