'missile-driven' originates from the combination of 'missile' and 'driven', where 'missile' refers to a projectile and 'driven' indicates being powered or propelled.

'missile' comes from the Latin word 'missilis', meaning 'that may be thrown', and 'driven' is derived from the Old English 'drifan', meaning 'to drive'.

Initially, 'missile-driven' referred to any object propelled by a missile, and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.