'pyrimidine-containing' originates from Modern English, specifically formed by combining the chemical noun 'pyrimidine' and the English present-participle 'containing'.

'pyrimidine' entered scientific English in the 19th century (from German 'Pyrimidin', coined in chemical nomenclature) and was adopted into English as 'pyrimidine'; the compound adjective 'pyrimidine-containing' developed later in modern scientific usage to describe molecules that include a pyrimidine unit.

Initially used to refer to the heterocyclic compound 'pyrimidine' itself; over time the formation 'pyrimidine-containing' came to specifically denote substances that contain one or more pyrimidine rings or residues.