'annal-oriented' originates from English, combining the noun 'annal' (from Latin 'annales', from 'annus' meaning 'year') and the adjective 'oriented' (from Latin 'orientare', related to 'oriens' meaning 'rising' or 'east'), forming a compound that describes a disposition toward annals or chronological records.

'annal' comes into English via Medieval Latin/French from Latin 'annales' (yearly records); 'oriented' derives from Late Latin 'orientare' (to face the east/rise) and passed into English via Old French/Latin-derived vocabulary. The modern compound 'annal-oriented' is a recent English formation combining these elements to denote a record-focused orientation.

Initially, 'annal' meant 'yearly records' and 'orient' originally referred to the direction of the rising sun; combined in modern English, 'annal-oriented' now specifically means 'having a tendency to prioritize chronological/year-by-year recording' rather than its component literal senses.