'freshwater-loving' originates from Modern English, composed of the compound 'freshwater' and the suffix '-loving', where 'fresh' (from Old English 'fersc') originally meant 'not salty' or 'new', 'water' (from Old English 'wæter') meant 'water', and the element 'loving' comes from Old English 'lufian' meaning 'to love' or 'to have an affinity for'.

'freshwater' developed in English from Old English elements 'fersc' + 'wæter' and existed as a compound meaning 'not salty water'; the participial adjective-forming suffix '-loving' (from verbs like 'love' < Old English 'lufian') was later attached to form compounds such as 'freshwater-loving'.

Initially, the components denoted 'not salty water' and 'having affection for'; combined as a compound they have long meant 'having an affinity for freshwater', a meaning that has remained consistent into modern usage.