'asymmetric-jawed' is a compound formed from 'asymmetric' and 'jawed'. 'asymmetric' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'asymmetria', where the prefix 'a-' meant 'not' and 'symmetria' meant 'measured together' (i.e., 'symmetry'); 'jawed' is formed from 'jaw', which originates from Old English 'ceace' (meaning 'jaw').

'asymmetric' entered English via Late Latin/Medieval Latin and/or French forms of Greek 'asymmetria' and developed into the modern adjective 'asymmetric'; 'jaw' evolved from Old English 'ceace' into Middle English and the modern English 'jaw', with 'jawed' formed as an adjectival past/participial-type suffix indicating having a jaw of a specified kind.

Initially, the components meant 'not symmetrical' (asymmetric) and 'jaw' respectively; combined as a compound they have retained the straightforward descriptive meaning 'having an asymmetrical jaw' in modern usage.