'late-blooming' originates from the combination of 'late' and 'blooming', where 'late' means 'after the expected time' and 'blooming' refers to 'the process of flowering'.

'late-blooming' evolved from the phrase 'late bloomer', which was used to describe plants that flowered later than usual, and eventually became a metaphor for people or things that develop later than expected.

Initially, it referred to plants that flowered later than others, but over time it evolved into its current metaphorical meaning of 'developing or maturing later than usual'.