'machine-wash' is a compound of 'machine' and 'wash'. 'Machine' entered English via French and Latin ('machina'), and 'wash' comes from Old English 'wæscan'.

'machine' originates from Latin 'machina' (via Old French 'machine') and became English 'machine' in modern usage; 'wash' comes from Old English 'wæscan' → Middle English 'waschen' → modern English 'wash'. The compound 'machine-wash' arose after domestic washing machines became common (19th–20th century).

Initially, the separate words meant 'mechanical device' ('machine') and 'to clean with water' ('wash'); the compound specifically came to mean 'to wash using a washing machine' and has retained that specific sense.