'low-powered' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the adjective 'low' and the noun 'power' with the adjectival suffix '-ed' to describe something possessing little power or power output.

'power' entered English from Old French 'povoir' (modern French 'pouvoir'), itself from Latin roots such as 'posse'/'potere' meaning 'to be able'; 'power' became Middle English 'power'. 'low' goes back to Old English (related words meaning 'not high'/'close to the ground'), and the compound concept 'low power' was used in technical contexts before the hyphenated adjective 'low-powered' became common in the 19th–20th centuries.

Initially the components 'low' (not high) and 'power' (ability, force) had separate senses; combined as 'low-powered' the phrase came to mean specifically 'having little power or output', and in extended use it also acquired a figurative sense of limited influence or effectiveness.