'large-bodied' originates from modern English compounding of the adjective 'large' and the noun 'body'. 'Large' entered English via Old French 'large' (ultimately from Latin 'largus'), where 'largus' meant 'abundant' or 'generous', and 'body' comes from Old English 'bodig' meaning 'trunk' or 'main part'.

'large' came into Middle English from Old French 'large' (from Latin 'largus'); 'body' comes from Old English 'bodig'. The compound adjective 'large-bodied' is a modern English formation combining these elements with the adjectival '-ed' to mean 'having a body of a certain type or size'.

Initially, 'large' carried senses related to 'generous' or 'ample' and 'body' referred to the trunk/main part; over time the combination came to be used descriptively for physical size, yielding the current meaning 'having a large body'.