'elided-initial' is an English compound formed from the past participle 'elided' (from the verb 'elide') and the adjective 'initial'. 'elide' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'elidere', where 'e-' meant 'out' and the root referred to 'strike away' or 'remove'; 'initial' originates from Latin 'initium' meaning 'beginning'.

'elide' came into English via the Latin 'elidere' and its Romance reflexes and developed the English verb 'elide' (and the past participle 'elided'); 'initial' passed from Latin 'initium' into Old French and Middle English as 'initial', and the compound 'elided-initial' arose in descriptive linguistic usage (20th century onward) to describe initial segments that are elided.

Initially, the Latin root meant 'to strike away' or 'remove'; over time in English 'elide' specialized to mean 'omit (a sound) in speech,' and 'elided-initial' now specifically denotes an initial sound that has been omitted in pronunciation.