'nutty-tasting' is a compound formed from 'nutty' + 'tasting'. 'nutty' comes from 'nut' + the adjectival suffix '-y', while 'tasting' is the present-participle/adjectival form of 'taste'.

'nut' originates from Old English 'hnutu' (from Proto-Germanic *hnut-), later yielding the adjective 'nutty' by adding the suffix '-y' in Early Modern English; 'taste' comes via Old French 'taster' / 'tast' (from Vulgar Latin *tastare, related to Latin 'tangere' 'to touch'), giving the participle 'tasting'. These elements combined in modern English to form the descriptive compound 'nutty-tasting'.

Initially, 'nutty' meant 'of or like a nut' and 'tasting' indicated 'having the taste of'; over time the compound came to be used specifically to describe foods and drinks that have a flavor resembling nuts ('having a nut-like taste').