'rheumatism-relieving' is a modern English compound formed from the noun 'rheumatism' and the present-participle adjective 'relieving'.

'rheumatism' originates from Greek 'rheuma' (ῥεῦμα) via Latin 'rheumatismus' (Medieval Latin), where 'rheuma' meant 'a flowing (discharge)'; 'relieve' originates from Old French 'relever' and Latin 'relevare' (re- + levare), where 'levare' meant 'to raise' and later came to mean 'to ease or lessen'.

Initially, 'rheumatism' referred to bodily 'flows' or discharges thought to cause pain; over time it came to denote the medical condition of painful joints and connective tissue disorders. 'Relieve' originally meant 'to raise again' or 'to lighten' and evolved into the modern sense 'to lessen pain or distress', so the compound now means 'to lessen rheumatic pain'.