'tuberculin-sensitive' originates as a modern compound of 'tuberculin' and 'sensitive'. 'tuberculin' was coined in Neo-Latin/medical usage from Latin 'tuberculum' (a small swelling or 'tubercle') with the protein-forming suffix '-in', and 'sensitive' comes from Latin 'sensitivus' (from 'sentire' meaning 'to feel' or 'perceive') via Old French and Middle English.

'tuberculin' was introduced in the late 19th century (Robert Koch) for a substance derived from tubercles; it derives from Latin 'tuberculum' through Neo-Latin/medical coinage. 'sensitive' entered English via Old French 'sensitif' from Latin 'sensitivus', and the compound combining a diagnostic substance name with 'sensitive' formed in modern medical English to describe reactivity.

Initially the elements referred separately to a substance from tubercles ('tuberculin') and the quality of being perceptible or affected ('sensitive'); the compound evolved to mean specifically 'showing a diagnostic reaction to tuberculin' (as in a tuberculin skin test).