'riot-control' is a compound of 'riot' and 'control'. 'riot' originates from Old French 'riote' or 'riote' (later Middle English 'riote'), where the root meant 'uproar' or 'dispute'. 'control' originates from Old French 'contrerolle' (from Medieval Latin 'contrarotulus'), where elements meant 'counter' and 'roll' (i.e., to check against a register).

'riot' passed into Middle English from Old French 'riote' and became the modern English 'riot'; 'control' evolved from Medieval Latin 'contrarotulus' to Old French 'contrerolle' and then into Middle English 'control'. The compound 'riot-control' developed in modern English with policing and public-order vocabulary in the 19th–20th centuries.

Individually, 'riot' originally meant 'uproar' and 'control' meant 'checking or keeping order'; combined, they came to mean 'measures to check or suppress riots' and now specifically denote policing tactics, equipment, and procedures for managing public disorder.