'ego-bound' is a modern English compound formed from the noun 'ego' (from Latin 'ego' meaning 'I') and the adjective/participle 'bound' (from Old English 'bindan' via past forms meaning 'tied' or 'fastened').

'ego' comes directly from Latin 'ego' (the first-person pronoun 'I'); 'bound' derives from Old English verbs related to 'bind' and their past participle forms (e.g., 'bounden'). The compound 'ego-bound' is a recent English formation created by combining these elements to express being 'tied to the self.'

Literally it meant 'tied to the self' (a physical or metaphorical binding to 'I'), and over time it has been used figuratively to mean 'limited or governed by one's ego' in psychological or critical contexts.