'immune-evasive' is a compound of 'immune' + 'evasive'. 'immune' originates from Latin 'immunis' meaning 'exempt' (via Medieval Latin and Old French), and 'evasive' originates from Latin 'evadere' (e- + vadere) meaning 'to go out, escape' (via Old French/Latin formations).

'immune' passed from Latin 'immunis' into Medieval Latin and Old French before entering Middle English as 'immune'; 'evasive' developed from Latin 'evadere' through Romance forms and entered English as 'evasive'. The compound 'immune-evasive' is a modern formation combining these two elements.

Initially, 'immune' meant 'exempt' and 'evasive' meant 'tending to evade/escape'; combined in modern usage they describe the quality of 'escaping immune responses'—a meaning developed with advances in immunology and virology.