The term 'brittle-leaved' combines 'brittle,' from Old English 'bryttian,' meaning 'to break,' and 'leaved,' from Old English 'lēaf,' meaning 'leaf.'

'Brittle' evolved from the Old English 'bryttian,' while 'leaved' comes from 'lēaf,' both merging to describe plants with fragile foliage.

Initially, 'brittle' referred to anything that could break easily, and 'leaved' simply described something with leaves. Together, they now specifically describe plants with fragile leaves.