'exit-minded' is a modern compound formed from the noun 'exit' + the adjective-forming combining element '-minded' (from 'mind' + '-ed'), used to indicate a particular focus or disposition.

'exit' originates from Latin 'exīre' meaning 'to go out'; 'mind' comes from Old English 'gemynd' (memory, thought). The combining pattern '-minded' (as in 'short-minded', 'open-minded') developed in Modern English to form adjectives describing disposition; 'exit-minded' arose as a recent coinage in business and informal usage.

Initially, 'exit' meant 'to go out' in Latin; combined with '-minded' in modern English it shifted to mean 'having a disposition focused on an exit (decision or outcome)', a figurative extension used especially in business contexts.