'hypersensitivity-causing' originates from English, specifically the combining elements 'hyper-' (from Greek 'huper', where 'huper' meant 'over, excessive'), 'sensitivity' (ultimately from Latin 'sensus' via Old French, where 'sensus' related to 'perception, feeling') and 'cause' (from Latin 'causa', where 'causa' meant 'a reason or source').

'hypersensitivity-causing' developed as a modern English compound formed from the noun 'hypersensitivity' plus the present-participial adjective-forming element 'causing'; 'hypersensitivity' itself is a 19th–20th century medical coinage from 'hyper-' + 'sensitivity' and was later combined with 'causing' to make the descriptive compound.

Initially, the constituent 'hypersensitivity' referred specifically to an excessive physiological sensitivity (especially immunological); over time the compound 'hypersensitivity-causing' has come to be used more broadly to describe agents that provoke exaggerated sensitivity, including allergic and irritant reactions, and in some contexts borrowed into general descriptions of causing heightened sensitivity.