'human-induced' is a compound formed from 'human' and 'induced'. 'human' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'humanus', where 'humanus' meant 'of man' or 'humane'. 'induced' comes from Latin, specifically the verb 'inducere', where the prefix 'in-' meant 'into' and 'ducere' meant 'to lead'.

'inducere' passed into Old French as 'induire' and into Middle English as 'induce'; 'humanus' passed into Old French as 'humain' and into Middle English as 'human'. In Modern English the past-participle-based compound 'human-induced' developed (particularly in scientific contexts) to describe causes traced to human action.

Initially, 'inducere' had the sense 'to lead in' and 'humanus' meant 'of man'; over time 'induce' broadened to the sense 'to cause', and the compound 'human-induced' came to mean 'caused by human activity'.