'exserted-fruited' is a compound formed from 'exserted' + 'fruited'. 'exserted' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'exserere', where 'ex-' meant 'out' and 'serere' (in this root) meant 'to put/extend'. 'fruited' is built from English 'fruit', which originates from Old French 'fruit' and Latin 'fructus' (from the verb 'frui').

'exserted' came into English via Medieval/Neo-Latin forms such as 'exsertus' and was adopted into modern botanical English as 'exserted'; 'fruit' passed from Latin 'fructus' through Old French 'fruit' into Middle English 'fruit', later taking the adjectival/past-participial suffix '-ed' to form 'fruited'. The compound 'exserted-fruited' is a modern botanical compound combining these elements.

Initially, 'exserted' broadly meant 'thrust out' and 'fruit' originally meant 'enjoyment' or 'that which is produced/enjoyed'; over time the senses narrowed in botanical contexts so that 'exserted-fruited' specifically describes plants whose fruits project beyond surrounding floral parts.