'people-related' originates from Modern English, formed by combining 'people' and 'related'. 'people' ultimately comes from Old French 'pueple' and Latin 'populus', meaning 'people'; 'related' comes from Latin 'relatus', the past participle of 'referre', where 're-' meant 'back' and 'ferre' meant 'to carry'.

'people' changed from Old French 'pueple' (from Latin 'populus') into Middle English 'people' and kept the meaning 'people'; 'related' evolved from Latin 'relatus' to Old French and Middle English senses of 'brought back' or 'shown to be connected', and in Modern English 'related' came to mean 'connected'. The compound 'people-related' is a modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially, the roots referred to 'a group of people' (populus) and the idea of 'being brought back' or 'carried' in 'relatus'; over time 'related' shifted to mean 'connected', and the compound 'people-related' now means 'connected to people' or 'concerning people'.