'nutrient-retaining' is a compound built from 'nutrient' and the present participle 'retaining'. 'Nutrient' comes ultimately from Latin 'nutrire' (to nourish) via Medieval Latin 'nutrient-', while 'retaining' derives from 'retain', from Latin 'retinere' ('re-' + 'tenere', to hold).

'nutrient' developed from Latin 'nutrire' → Medieval Latin 'nutrient-' → Middle English 'nutrient'. 'Retain' passed from Latin 'retinere' into Old French 'retenir' and then into Middle English as 'retain', with the present participle forming 'retaining'. The modern compound 'nutrient-retaining' is a descriptive, technical formation in modern English (19th–20th century usage) used in agriculture and food science.

Individually, 'nutrient' originally meant 'that which nourishes', and 'retain' meant 'to hold or keep'; combined as 'nutrient-retaining' the meaning became specifically 'able to keep or prevent loss of nutrients' in contexts like soil, packaging, or processing.