The term 'frost-vulnerable' combines 'frost,' from Old English 'forst,' meaning 'frozen precipitation,' and 'vulnerable,' from Latin 'vulnerabilis,' meaning 'able to be wounded.'

'Frost' remained largely unchanged from Old English to modern English, while 'vulnerable' evolved from Latin 'vulnerabilis' through Old French 'vulnerable' to modern English.

Initially, 'vulnerable' meant 'able to be wounded,' and in combination with 'frost,' it evolved to mean 'susceptible to frost damage.'