'duck-beaked' originates from English, combining the noun 'duck' (the waterfowl) + the noun 'beak' with the adjectival suffix '-ed' to mean 'having a beak like a duck'.

'duck' descends from Old English words for the bird (e.g. 'duce'/'duc'), 'beak' comes via Middle English 'bek' influenced by Old Norse forms, and the suffix '-ed' has been used in English to form adjectives meaning 'having' (as in 'beaked'). These elements were combined in modern English to form the compound adjective 'duck-beaked'.

Initially the components referred separately to the bird 'duck' and the anatomical 'beak'; combined as 'duck-beaked' the meaning has been a straightforward descriptive one — 'having a duck-like beak' — and has remained so.