'double-centered' originates from two elements in English: 'double' and 'centered'. 'Double' ultimately comes from Latin 'duplus' via Old French 'double', where 'du-'/'duo-' meant 'two'. 'Centered' comes from 'center', which originates in Latin from Greek 'kentron' meaning 'sharp point' or 'center'.

'double' passed into Middle English from Old French 'double' (from Latin 'duplus'), while 'center' came into English from Old French/Latin forms derived from Greek 'kentron'; the adjective 'centered' formed by adding the participial/adjectival suffix '-ed' to 'center', and the compound 'double-centered' was later formed in Modern English to describe things with two centers.

Initially, components meant 'twofold' ('double') and 'having a center' ('centered'); combined, the compound simply described 'having two centers' and later extended figuratively to mean having two focal points or dual authorities.