'oft-cited' is a compound of 'oft' and 'cited'. 'Oft' originates from Old English 'oft', meaning 'often'. 'Cited' comes from Latin 'citare' via Old French 'citer' and Middle English 'cite', where 'citare' meant 'to call or summon'.

'oft' remained as Old English 'oft' and continued to mean 'frequently'; 'citare' transformed into Old French 'citer', then into Middle English 'cite' and finally the past participle 'cited', combining to form the modern compound 'oft-cited'.

The components originally meant 'frequent' and 'to call/summon'; together they came to mean 'frequently referred to or mentioned in citations' in modern usage.