'low-alumina' is an English compound formed from 'low' and 'alumina', where 'low' meant 'not high' and 'alumina' is the chemical name for aluminum oxide.

'alumina' derives from Latin 'alumen' ('alum'), which through scientific Latin and modern chemistry became 'alumina' as the name for the oxide of aluminum; combined with 'low' in modern English to form the descriptive compound 'low-alumina'.

Initially 'alumen' referred to a bitter salt used as an astringent; over time the term evolved in scientific usage to denote the oxide of aluminum ('alumina'), and 'low-alumina' now specifically describes low content of that oxide in a material.