'goal-scorer' is a compound of 'goal' + 'scorer'. 'goal' originates from Middle English (earlier Old English 'gāl'), where the element meant 'boundary' or 'limit'; 'score' (the base of 'scorer') originates from Old Norse 'skora' (via Middle English 'scoren'), where it meant 'to cut/notch'.

'goal' changed from Old English 'gāl' to Middle English 'gol' and eventually became the modern English word 'goal'. 'score' changed from Old Norse 'skora' to Middle English 'scoren'/'score' and the agent form 'scorer' developed; the modern compound 'goal-scorer' formed in modern English to denote a player who scores a goal.

Initially, 'goal' meant a 'boundary' or 'limit' and 'score' referred to a 'cut' or 'notch' used for tallying; over time 'goal' shifted toward the sense of a 'target' or 'point' in sport and 'score' came to mean 'recording points', so 'goal-scorer' evolved to mean 'a player who scores a goal'.