'intermittently-authorized' is a modern compound formed from 'intermittently' + 'authorized'. 'Intermittently' derives from Latin 'intermittere' (via Old French/Medieval Latin), where 'inter-' meant 'between' and 'mittere' meant 'to send/let go'. 'Authorized' comes via Old French 'autoriser' from Latin 'auctor', 'auctorizare', where 'auctor' meant 'originator, author' (hence 'to give authority').

'intermittent' entered English from Latin 'intermittere' through Old French/Medieval Latin and became 'intermittent' in modern English; 'authorize' came into English from Old French 'autoriser' (from Latin 'auctor'), giving the past participle 'authorized'. The compound 'intermittently-authorized' is a recent English formation combining the adverbial form with a past-participle adjective.

Originally, elements meant 'to send between/stop and start' (intermittere) and 'to give authority' (auctor/autoriser). Over time the combination came to mean 'having authority that starts and stops' or more simply 'authorized at intervals'.