'nutrient-rich' originates from the combination of 'nutrient' and 'rich', where 'nutrient' refers to a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life, and 'rich' means having a lot of something.

'nutrient' comes from the Latin word 'nutrientem', meaning 'that which nourishes', and 'rich' comes from the Old English 'rice', meaning 'powerful or wealthy'.

Initially, 'nutrient' referred to any nourishing substance, and 'rich' meant having an abundance. Together, they evolved to describe something abundant in nourishing substances.