'poorly-separated' originates from the combination of 'poorly,' meaning 'in a poor manner,' and 'separated,' meaning 'divided or set apart.'

'poorly' and 'separated' have been used in English since the Middle Ages, with 'poorly' deriving from 'poor' and 'separated' from Latin 'separatus.'

Initially, 'poorly' meant 'in a poor condition,' and 'separated' meant 'set apart.' Together, they evolved to describe something not effectively divided.