'pollinator-attracted' is a modern compound formed from 'pollinator' + 'attracted'. 'Pollinator' derives from the verb 'pollinate' (late 17th to 19th century formation in English) based on Latin 'pollen' meaning 'fine flour' (pollen). 'Attract(ed)' comes from Latin 'attrahere' via Old French/Latin, where 'ad-' meant 'toward' and 'trahere' meant 'to draw or pull'.

'pollinator' developed from 'pollinate' (from Latin 'pollen') with the agentive suffix '-or', and 'attracted' is the past-participial/adjectival form of 'attract' (from Latin/Old French roots). The compound 'pollinator-attracted' is a recent English descriptive formation used in ecology and horticulture to describe species or cultivars that draw pollinators.

Initially, the elements referred separately to 'pollen-related action' ('pollinate') and 'to draw toward' ('attract'); combined in modern usage they mean 'having qualities that draw pollinators', a descriptive ecological trait.