'irregularly-managed' originates from English, specifically from the adverb 'irregularly' (derived from the adjective 'irregular' + the adverbial suffix '-ly'), where the prefix 'ir-' meant 'not' (from Latin in-) and 'regular' came from Latin 'regula' meaning 'rule', and from the past participle 'managed' (from Middle English 'managen' from Old French 'manegier' / Italian 'maneggiare').

'irregular' came into English via Latin 'irregularis' (in- 'not' + regularis 'according to rule'), with the adverbial suffix '-ly' producing 'irregularly'; 'manage' evolved from Old French 'manegier'/'maneggiare' (related to Latin 'manus' meaning 'hand'), then into Middle English 'managen' and modern English 'manage' with past participle 'managed'; combining the adverb + past participle produced the compound adjectival phrase 'irregularly-managed'.

Initially the components meant 'not according to rule' (irregular) and 'handled by hand' (manage); over time the compound came to mean 'handled or supervised in a non-systematic or inconsistent way' in modern usage.