'ill-received' originates from English by combining 'ill' and 'receive'. 'ill' comes from Old English 'yfel' (meaning 'bad, evil'), and 'receive' comes from Latin 'recipere' via Old French 'recevoir'.

'receive' changed from Latin 'recipere' to Old French 'recevoir' and then to Middle English 'receiven' before becoming modern English 'receive'. 'ill' developed from Old English 'yfel' into the modern form 'ill', and the compound 'ill-received' emerged in Early Modern English as a descriptive phrase.

Initially a literal combination meaning 'received badly', over time it became a fixed adjective meaning 'not welcomed or approved', often implying public or group disapproval.