'quartz-feldspar-rich' originates from modern English, formed by combining 'quartz' (from German 'Quarz', where 'Quarz' meant the mineral quartz) and 'feldspar' (from German 'Feldspath', where 'feld' meant 'field' and 'spath' meant 'mineral' or 'stone'), plus the English adjective-forming element 'rich' (from Old English 'rīce' in the sense of 'having abundance').

'quartz' entered English from German 'Quarz' in the 18th century and 'feldspar' entered via German mineral names such as 'Feldspath'; in modern usage these component names were compounded with the adjective 'rich' to form descriptive technical phrases like 'quartz-feldspar-rich'.

Initially the component words referred only to the individual minerals; over time the compound came to be used as a concise descriptive adjective meaning 'having a high content of both quartz and feldspar'.