'poorly-done' originates from the combination of 'poorly,' meaning 'in a poor manner,' and 'done,' the past participle of 'do,' meaning 'completed or executed.'

'poorly' and 'done' have been used in English since the Middle Ages, with 'poorly' deriving from 'poor,' and 'done' from the Old English 'don.'

Initially, 'poorly-done' meant 'completed in a poor manner,' and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.