'low-aluminum-content' originates from Modern English by combining the adjective 'low', the noun 'aluminum', and the noun 'content'. 'low' traces back to Old English 'hlāw'/'hlēow' meaning 'not high or near the ground', 'aluminum' derives from New Latin 'aluminium' (coined in the early 19th century from Latin 'alumen' meaning 'alum'), and 'content' comes via Old French from Latin 'contentus' meaning 'contained.'

'low' evolved from Old English roots meaning 'not high'; 'aluminium' (Latin 'alumen') entered chemical terminology in the 18th–19th century and was standardized as 'aluminum' in American usage; 'content' came from Latin through Old French. The compound phrase formed in modern technical English by straightforward combination of these elements to describe composition.

Individually the components originally meant 'not high' (low), a chemical name derived from 'alum' (aluminum), and 'that which is contained' (content); over time the combined phrase came to be used as a descriptive technical term meaning 'having a small amount of aluminum.'