'export-restrictive' originates from English, specifically the compound of 'export' and 'restrictive'. 'export' comes from Latin 'exportare,' where 'ex-' meant 'out' and 'portare' meant 'to carry'; 'restrictive' derives from Latin 'restringere'/'restrictus', where 're-' meant 'back' and 'stringere' meant 'to bind or tighten'.

'export' passed from Latin 'exportare' into Old French and Middle English (e.g. Old French 'exporter', Middle English 'exporten') before becoming modern English 'export'. 'Restrictive' evolved from Latin participles (e.g. 'restrictus') through Old French/Medieval Latin forms into the English verb 'restrict' and the adjective 'restrictive'. The compound 'export-restrictive' is a modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially, 'export' meant 'to carry out' and 'restrictive' related to 'binding back' or 'limiting.' Over time the combined term came to mean specifically 'limiting or controlling exports,' used in policy and trade contexts.