'inflammation-causing' is a compound built from Latin-derived English elements: 'inflammation' (from Latin 'inflammatio') and 'cause' (from Latin 'causa'), where 'in-' and 'flammare' in Latin conveyed the sense 'to set on fire' and 'causa' meant 'reason' or 'source'.

'Inflammation' came into English via Latin 'inflammatio' (through Old French/Medieval Latin and Middle English forms such as 'inflamacioun'), eventually becoming modern English 'inflammation'. 'Cause' came from Latin 'causa' via Old French 'cause' into Middle English 'cause'. The modern compound 'inflammation-causing' is a descriptive formation in modern English combining these elements.

Originally 'inflammatio' referred to 'a setting on fire' (literally burning); over time the sense shifted in medical usage to the physiological reaction (redness, swelling, heat, pain). 'Inflammation-causing' therefore evolved to mean 'producing that physiological response' rather than literal burning.