'carefully-revised' originates from the combination of 'carefully' and 'revised', where 'carefully' is derived from 'care' meaning 'attention' and '-fully' meaning 'in a manner of'. 'Revised' comes from Latin 'revisere', meaning 'to look at again'.

'carefully-revised' evolved from the Middle English 'careful' and 'revisen', eventually forming the modern English compound adjective 'carefully-revised'.

Initially, 'carefully-revised' meant 'looked at again with care', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.