'neutrophil-dominant' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound of 'neutrophil' and 'dominant'. 'neutrophil' is formed from neutro- (referring to neutral staining) plus Greek 'philos' (meaning 'loving') via New Latin; 'dominant' comes from Latin 'dominant-' (present participle of 'dominare') from 'dominus' meaning 'lord, master'.

'neutrophil' entered scientific English in the late 19th to early 20th century from New Latin (built from neutro- + -phil); 'dominant' came into English earlier via Old French and Latin. The compound adjective 'neutrophil-dominant' is a modern medical coinage (20th–21st century) combining these elements to describe cellular predominance.

Initially, the parts referred separately to staining preference ('neutrophil') and authority or predominance ('dominant'); combined in modern medical usage they specifically denote 'characterized by predominance of neutrophils'.