'relief-printed' originates from an English compound of 'relief' and 'print'. 'relief' originates from French, specifically the word 'relief' (from Old French 'relever'), where the root 'lever' meant 'to raise'. 'print' originates from Old French 'imprimer' / 'empreindre', from Latin roots such as 'premere' / 'pressare', where the root meant 'to press'.

'relief' passed into Middle English from Old French (earlier forms like 'relever' / 'relif'), and 'print' passed from Old French 'imprimer'/'empreindre' into Middle English forms such as 'printen'/'prenten' before becoming 'print'. The compound usage linking 'relief' with 'print' to describe prints from raised surfaces appears in technical descriptions from the 18th–19th centuries, leading to adjectival uses like 'relief-printed'.

Initially the separate elements referred to a 'raised form' ('relief') and an 'impression or pressing' ('print'); combined, the term has long meant 'a print made from a raised surface' and has retained that technical meaning in modern usage.