'human-caused' originates from Modern English, specifically a compound of the adjective 'human' and the past-participle form 'caused' (from the verb 'cause'), where 'human' ultimately comes from Latin 'humanus' meaning 'of man' and 'cause' comes from Latin 'causa' meaning 'reason' or 'case'.

'human' passed into English via Old French/Middle English from Latin 'humanus', and 'cause' came into English from Old French 'cause' < Latin 'causa'; the modern compound 'human-caused' developed in recent English by combining the adjective and a past participle to indicate agency.

Initially the elements meant 'of humans' (human) and 'reason/occasion' (cause); over time the compound came to be used specifically to attribute an effect to human activity, i.e. 'caused by people'.