'hydrogen-containing' is a Modern English compound formed from the noun 'hydrogen' and the present participle 'containing'. 'Hydrogen' ultimately comes from Greek roots: 'hydro-' meaning 'water' and '-genes' meaning 'forming' (via French 'hydrogène'), while 'contain' comes from Latin 'continere' (com- + tenere) where 'tenere' meant 'to hold'.

'hydrogen' was adopted into scientific French as 'hydrogène' (coined by Lavoisier, 1783) from Greek 'hydōr' (water) + 'genes' (producing); 'contain' comes from Latin 'continere' which passed into Old French 'contenir' and Middle English forms before producing English 'contain'; the compound adjective 'hydrogen-containing' arose in Modern English by combining the two words to describe substances that have hydrogen within them.

The Greek-derived element name originally meant 'water-forming' (because hydrogen forms water when burned); over time it became the standard name for the chemical element hydrogen. 'Contain' originally meant 'to hold together' or 'to keep in' and evolved into the broader sense 'to have within', which is the sense used in the compound today.