'broad-snouted' is a modern English compound formed from 'broad' + 'snout' with the adjectival suffix '-ed'. 'broad' originates from Old English 'brād', where 'brād' meant 'wide'; 'snout' originates from Middle English 'snout', meaning 'nose, projecting mouthpart'.

'broad' developed from Old English 'brād' into Middle and Modern English as 'broad'; 'snout' appeared in Middle English and remained in use; the compound adjective 'broad-snouted' was created in modern English by combining these elements plus '-ed' to describe animals with a wide snout.

The component words originally meant 'wide' (for 'broad') and 'nose/mouth projection' (for 'snout'); combined as 'broad-snouted' the meaning is simply 'having a wide snout', with little semantic drift from the original component senses.