'libido-suppressing' is a compound formed from the noun 'libido' and the present-participial adjective 'suppressing'. 'libido' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'libido' meaning 'desire, lust', and 'suppress' ultimately comes from Latin 'supprimere' (from 'sub-' + 'premere').

'libido' entered English as a learned borrowing from Latin (heightened in usage in psychological contexts in the 19th and 20th centuries). 'suppress' came into English from Old French (e.g. 'supprimer') and from Latin 'supprimere' meaning 'to press down'; the compound 'libido-suppressing' is a modern English formation combining these elements to describe something that lowers libido.

Initially, 'libido' meant 'desire' (in Latin) and 'suppress' meant 'to press down' or 'restrain'; over time the combined compound came to mean specifically 'reducing sexual desire' in contemporary usage.