'memory-related' originates from English, composed of the elements 'memory' and 'related'. 'memory' ultimately comes from Latin, specifically the word 'memoria', where the root 'mem-' meant 'to remember' (or 'mindful recollection'). 'related' comes from Latin 'relatus', the past participle of 'referre', where 're-' meant 'back' and 'ferre' meant 'to carry'.

'memory' changed from Latin 'memoria' through Old French 'memoire' into Middle English 'memory'; 'related' developed from Latin 'relatus' via Old French/Anglo-Norman and Middle English 'relate' to the modern participial adjective 'related'. The compound 'memory-related' was formed in Modern English by combining these elements to create an adjective phrase.

Initially the separate elements meant 'recollection' ('memory') and 'brought back/connected' ('related'); over time they combined to form the modern adjective meaning 'connected to or concerning memory'.