'Panoan-associated' is a compound formed from 'Panoan' and 'associated'. 'Panoan' derives from the ethnonym 'Pano' with the adjectival suffix '-an' meaning 'related to', and 'associated' comes from Latin 'associare' via Old French/English meaning 'joined with or connected to'.

'Panoan' was coined in linguistic and anthropological contexts from the name 'Pano' used for certain Amazonian indigenous groups; the suffix '-an' was attached to form the adjective 'Panoan'. 'Associated' evolved from Latin 'associare' → Old French/Latin-influenced forms → Middle English 'associaten' and modern English 'associate', producing the compound 'Panoan-associated' in scholarly usage to denote relation to Panoan groups or languages.

The compound originally designated a connection to the ethnonym or language family ('related to Panoan'); its meaning has remained stable as a descriptive term for things connected with Panoan peoples, languages, or cultural traits.