'low-drag-finned' originates from modern English, formed by compounding the words 'low' + 'drag' + 'finned', where 'low' meant 'not high', 'drag' carried the sense of 'resistance to motion' (ultimately from Middle English/Old Norse roots meaning 'to draw, pull'), and 'finned' is the adjective formed from 'fin' + the suffix '-ed' meaning 'having fins'.

'low-drag-finned' developed as a technical compound in 20th-century engineering English by combining earlier phrases such as 'low drag' and 'finned' (used separately in contexts like 'low-drag design' and 'finned heat exchanger') into a single hyphenated modifier.

Initially it simply combined the literal meanings of its parts ('low' + 'drag' + 'finned'); over time it stabilized as a specialized technical descriptor meaning 'fitted with fins specifically intended to reduce aerodynamic or hydrodynamic drag'.