'oxygen-inert' originates from the combination of 'oxygen' and 'inert', where 'oxygen' refers to the chemical element and 'inert' means 'lacking the ability or strength to move'.

'oxygen-inert' combines the word 'oxygen' from the late 18th century and 'inert' from the early 17th century, forming a modern compound adjective.

Initially, 'inert' meant 'inactive', and in combination with 'oxygen', it evolved to describe substances that do not react with oxygen.