'forest-preserving' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the noun 'forest' and the present participle 'preserving' (from the verb 'preserve'). 'Forest' came into English from Old French 'forest' (from Medieval Latin 'foresta'), and 'preserve' comes ultimately from Latin 'praeservare' via Old French and Middle English.

'forest' changed from Old French 'forest' (from Medieval Latin 'foresta') and entered Middle English as 'forest'; 'preserve' came from Latin 'praeservare' → Old French 'preserver' → Middle English 'preserven', and eventually produced the present participle 'preserving', leading to the compound modern English form 'forest-preserving'.

Initially, the parts meant 'forest' = 'woodland' and 'preserve' = 'to keep safe'; over time the compound came to mean 'intended to protect or conserve forests' in present-day usage.