'eutrophication-inhibiting' is a compound of the noun 'eutrophication' and the present-participle form 'inhibiting'. 'eutrophication' ultimately originates from Greek elements 'eu-' meaning 'well' and 'trophē' meaning 'nourishment'; 'inhibit' originates from Latin 'inhibēre' (in- + habēre) meaning 'to hold in' or 'restrain'.

'eutrophication' developed from Greek-derived scientific coinages (via Neo-Latin and modern scientific English) formed from 'eutroph-' (from Greek 'eutrophos' meaning 'well-nourished') plus the nominalizing suffix; 'inhibit' comes from Latin 'inhibēre', passed into Old/Middle French and Middle English as forms meaning 'to hold back', and the present participle 'inhibiting' was combined with 'eutrophication' in modern scientific English to form the compound adjective.

The root 'eu-' originally conveyed a positive sense of 'well' or 'good', and 'eutrophos' meant 'well-nourished'; in modern ecology 'eutrophication' came to denote excessive nutrient enrichment (a largely harmful process). 'Inhibit' retained the sense of 'restrain' or 'prevent', so the compound now means 'to prevent or restrain eutrophication'.