'low-collared' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the adjective 'low' and the past-participle-derived adjective 'collared' (from 'collar'), where 'low' comes from Old English 'hlāw' meaning 'not high/low' and 'collar' ultimately derives from Latin 'collarium'/'collum' meaning 'neck'.

'collar' changed from Latin 'collarium' (from 'collum' meaning 'neck') into Old French forms such as 'coler'/'colier', then into Middle English forms like 'coler'/'coller', and eventually became the Modern English 'collar'; 'low' comes from Old English 'hlāw' and developed into the Modern English adjective 'low'.

Initially, 'collar' meant an item or band for the neck and 'low' meant 'not high'; over time the compound (or hyphenated) descriptive form 'low-collared' came to mean specifically 'having a low neckline or low-set collar' in reference to clothing.