'broad-beaked' is a compound formed from 'broad' + 'beaked'. 'broad' originates from Old English 'brād' meaning 'wide', and 'beak' (in 'beaked') comes from Old French 'bec' meaning 'beak'.

'broad' passed from Old English 'brād' into Middle English as 'brad' and then to modern English 'broad'. 'beak' entered English via Old French 'bec' (Middle English 'bek'), becoming 'beak' in modern English; the adjectival form 'beaked' was formed by adding the suffix '-ed'. The descriptive compound 'broad-beaked' arose in modern English usage to describe animals with wide beaks.

The original element meanings were 'wide' (for 'broad') and 'beak' (for 'beak'); the compound has retained the straightforward sense 'having a wide beak' with little semantic change over time.