'salt-insensitive' originates from Modern English, specifically a compound of 'salt' (Old English 'sealt') and 'insensitive' (from Late Latin 'insensitivus' via Old French), where 'sealt' meant 'salt' and Latin prefix 'in-' meant 'not' while 'sensus' meant 'feeling'.

'salt' changed from Old English 'sealt' to Middle English 'salt', and 'insensitive' came from Late Latin 'insensitivus' through Old/Middle French into English; the two elements were combined in Modern English to form the descriptive compound 'salt-insensitive'.

Initially the components referred simply to 'salt' and 'not feeling/sensing'; over time the compound came to mean 'not affected by salt' or 'showing tolerance to saline conditions'.