'court-decided' is a compound formed from 'court' + 'decided'. 'Court' originates from Old French 'cort' (from Latin 'cohors'), where the sense developed toward 'enclosed yard' and then 'royal or judicial assembly'; 'decide' originates from Latin 'decidere', where 'de-' meant 'off' or 'away' and 'caedere' meant 'to cut'.

'court' came into English via Old French 'cort' and Middle English 'cour(t)'; 'decidere' passed into Old French and Middle English as 'deciden'/'decide' and later formed the past participle 'decided'. The compound 'court-decided' is a modern English formation combining these elements to mean 'decided by the court.'

Individually, 'court' originally referred to an enclosed place or assembly and 'decide' originally meant 'to cut off (a doubt)'; together in modern usage they mean 'determined by a judicial body'—a sense that developed through legal usage rather than a large semantic shift.