'continuous-evaluation-based' is a modern compound formed from three elements: 'continuous' + 'evaluation' + 'based'. 'continuous' originates from Latin 'continēre' through Medieval Latin 'continuus', where 'con-' meant 'together' and 'tenēre' meant 'to hold (hold together)'; 'evaluation' originates from French 'évaluer' (related to 'value'), ultimately from Latin 'valēre' meaning 'to be worth/strong'; 'based' is the past-participle/adjective form of 'base', which comes from Old French and Latin 'basis'/'basis' (from Greek 'βάσις, basis') meaning 'a base or foundation'.

'continuous' came into English via Old French/Medieval Latin 'continuus' and developed into Middle English forms before settling as modern 'continuous'; 'evaluation' entered English later (19th–20th century) via French 'évaluer' and the noun 'evaluation' was standardized in modern educational and administrative usage; combining such nouns/adjectives into hyphenated compounds (e.g. 'X-based') became common in 20th-century English technical and academic writing, producing phrases like 'continuous-evaluation-based'.

Initially the component words had separate, broader senses ('continuous' = unbroken, 'evaluation' = assessing value, 'base' = foundation). Over time the compound came to mean specifically 'grounded on ongoing assessment' in educational and organizational contexts.