'oxygen-tolerant' originates from the combination of 'oxygen' and 'tolerant', where 'oxygen' refers to the chemical element essential for respiration, and 'tolerant' means 'able to endure'.

'oxygen' comes from the French word 'oxygène', and 'tolerant' from the Latin 'tolerare', meaning 'to endure'.

Initially, 'tolerant' meant 'to endure', and combined with 'oxygen', it evolved to mean 'able to survive in the presence of oxygen'.