'primitive-winged' is a modern English compound formed from the adjective 'primitive' and the adjective 'winged'. 'primitive' originates from Latin 'primitivus', where 'primus' meant 'first'; 'winged' derives from the noun 'wing' (from Old English roots meaning the limb used for flight).

'primitive' entered English via Middle English from Latin 'primitivus' (ultimately from 'primus' meaning 'first'), while 'wing' comes from Old English forms that evolved into the modern English 'wing' and then the adjectival 'winged'; the compound 'primitive-winged' is a modern descriptive formation used mainly in scientific contexts.

Initially the elements meant 'first/earliest' (primitive) and 'having wings' (winged); over time the compound came to be used specifically to describe organisms whose wing structure retains ancestral (early-evolved) features.