'early-rising' is a compound of the adjective 'early' and the present participle 'rising'. 'early' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'ǣrelīċ' (from 'ǣr'), where 'ǣr' meant 'before' or 'early'. 'rising' comes from the verb 'rise', which originates from Old English 'rīsan', meaning 'to get up' or 'to rise'.

'early' changed from Old English 'ǣrelīċ' into Middle English forms like 'erly' and eventually became modern English 'early'. 'rise' evolved from Old English 'rīsan' through Middle English into modern 'rise', and the participle form produced 'rising'. The compound 'early-rising' formed in modern English by combining these elements to describe the habit of getting up early.

Initially, 'early' meant 'before' or 'previously' and 'rise' meant 'to move upward or get up'; over time the two combined to describe the habitual action 'getting up early', which is the current meaning of 'early-rising'.