'volume-depleted' originates from Modern English, formed by compounding 'volume' and 'depleted'; 'volume' ultimately comes from Latin 'volumen' (with 'volv-' meaning 'to roll'), and 'deplete' comes from Latin 'deplēre' (where 'de-' meant 'completely' and 'plēre' meant 'to fill').

'volume' entered English via Old French and Middle English from Latin 'volumen'; 'deplete' derives from Latin past participle 'deplētus' of 'deplēre' and later entered English as the verb 'deplete' and adjective 'depleted'. The compound 'volume-depleted' is a modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially, 'volume' often referred to a roll or book and later came to mean 'amount' or 'loudness'; 'deplete' originally meant 'to empty' or 'remove filling' and evolved to mean 'reduce a supply'. Together the compound now means 'reduced in amount or loudness'.