'oxygen-impermeable' is a modern English compound of 'oxygen' and 'impermeable'. 'oxygen' originates from French 'oxygène' (coined in Modern French), ultimately built from Greek elements 'oxys' (meaning 'sharp' or 'acid') and 'genes' (meaning 'producer' or 'born of'). 'impermeable' originates from French 'impermeable', from Latin components 'in-' (not) + 'permeare' (to pass through).

'oxygen' was coined in 18th-century Modern French ('oxygène') and adopted into English as 'oxygen'; 'impermeable' came into English from French 'impermeable', itself from Latin 'permeare' with the negative prefix 'in-'. The compound form 'oxygen-impermeable' is formed in Modern English by joining the noun and adjective.

Initially, 'oxygen' named the chemical element discovered and named in the 18th century, and 'impermeable' meant 'not allowing passage'; combined, they specifically describe something that does not allow oxygen to pass through — the compound meaning is transparent from its parts and has remained literal.