'content-centered' is a compound formed in Modern English from the noun 'content' (from Latin 'contentus' via Old French/Middle English) and the adjective-forming past participle 'centered' (from 'center', ultimately from Greek 'kentron' via Latin 'centrum').

'content' passed from Latin 'contentus' into Old French and Middle English as 'content' meaning 'that which is contained' or 'subject matter'; 'center' came from Greek 'kentron' to Latin 'centrum', through Old French 'centre' and Middle English 'centre', then formed the past-participle adjective 'centered' in Modern English. The compound 'content-centered' arose by combining these elements in Modern English to describe orientation toward content.

Originally 'content' often carried the sense of 'contained' or 'satisfied' and 'centered' meant 'placed at the center'; over time the compound came to mean 'organized or focused around the content (subject matter),' a meaning used in educational and design contexts.