'salinity-resistant' originates from Modern English, formed by combining 'salinity' and 'resistant'. 'salinity' comes from Latin 'salinitas', where 'sal-' meant 'salt' and '-itas' meant 'state or quality'; 'resistant' comes from Latin 'resistere', where 're-' meant 'against' and 'sistere' (or 'stare') meant 'to stand'.

'salinity' developed from Latin 'salinitas' into Medieval/Scientific Latin and later entered English as 'salinity'; 'resistant' came from Latin 'resistere' to Old French 'resister' and Middle English 'resist' with the adjectival suffix '-ant', and the compound 'salinity-resistant' was formed in modern English by joining the two elements.

Initially, the components referred separately to 'the quality of being salty' and 'able to stand against'; over time the compound came to mean specifically 'able to withstand salt (conditions)'.