'awkwardly-used' is a modern English compound formed from the adverb 'awkwardly' and the past participle 'used'. 'awkwardly' comes from 'awkward' + adverbial suffix '-ly'; 'used' is the past participle of 'use'.

'awkward' originated from Old Norse 'afugr' (meaning 'turned the wrong way') which passed into Middle English as 'awk' and later developed into 'awkward'. 'use' came into English via Old French 'user' from Latin 'uti' (and related forms) and became Middle English 'usen'/'use', with the past participle 'used' emerging in regular English conjugation.

Individually, 'awkward' initially referred to something 'back-handed' or 'off-hand' and gradually broadened to mean 'clumsy' or 'uncomfortable'; 'use' originally meant 'to employ or make use of'. The compound 'awkwardly-used' specifically describes something that has been employed in a clumsy or inappropriate manner.