'pleasure-seeking' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'pleasure' and 'seek', where 'pleasure' ultimately comes from Latin 'placēre' (via Old French 'plaisir') meaning 'to please', and 'seek' comes from Old English 'sēcan' meaning 'to search'.

'pleasure' entered Middle English from Old French 'plaisir' (from Latin 'placēre'), and 'seek' derives from Old English 'sēcan'; the compound 'pleasure-seeking' formed in Modern English, and the adverb was produced by adding the adverbial suffix '-ly' to create 'pleasure-seekingly'.

Initially the elements meant 'that which pleases' and 'to search'; when combined they meant 'seeking pleasure'—a sense that has largely remained, though modern usage often carries a more explicitly hedonistic or disapproving nuance.