'remotely-activated' originates from the combination of 'remote' and 'activate', where 'remote' comes from Latin 'remotus', meaning 'distant', and 'activate' from Latin 'activare', meaning 'to make active'.

'Remote' evolved from the Latin 'remotus' through Old French 'remot', and 'activate' from Latin 'activare' through Middle English 'activaten'.

Initially, 'remote' meant 'distant' and 'activate' meant 'to make active'. The combined term 'remotely-activated' now refers to devices or systems operated from a distance.