'narrow-toed' is a modern English compound formed from the adjective 'narrow' + the noun 'toe' with the adjectival suffix '-ed'. 'narrow' ultimately comes from Old English 'nearu', meaning 'close, confined', and 'toe' comes from Old English 'tā', meaning 'toe (digit of the foot)'.

'narrow' developed from Old English 'nearu' through Middle English forms such as 'narwe' into modern 'narrow'; 'toe' developed from Old English 'tā' into Middle English 'to'/'toe' and then modern 'toe'. The compound 'narrow-toed' is a straightforward modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially, 'narrow' meant 'close, confined' and 'toe' referred to the foot digit; when combined as 'narrow-toed' the phrase has a direct descriptive meaning 'having narrow toes' with no substantial semantic shift from its parts.