'enzyme-promoting' originates from Modern English, specifically the noun 'enzyme' (from Greek 'enzymon' via New Latin/German) and the present participle 'promoting' from the verb 'promote' (from Latin 'promovere'), where 'enzymon' meant 'in leaven' and 'pro-' meant 'forward'.

'enzyme' entered scientific English in the 19th century (from German Enzym, from Greek 'enzymon'), while 'promote' comes from Latin 'promovere' via Old French and Middle English; the hyphenated compound 'enzyme-promoting' is a modern scientific formation combining the two elements.

Initially 'enzyme' literally referenced 'in leaven' (relating to fermentation); over time it came to mean biological catalysts, and 'promote' originally meant 'move forward'—together they now mean 'to increase or encourage enzyme activity'.