'segmented-worm-like' originates from Modern English, specifically the words 'segmented' + 'worm' + suffix '-like', where 'segment' meant 'a part cut off' and '-like' meant 'similar to'.

'segment' comes from Latin 'segmentum' (from 'secare', to cut); 'worm' comes from Old English 'wyrm' meaning serpent or worm; the adjectival suffix '-like' comes from Old English '-līc'. These elements combined in Modern English to form the descriptive compound 'segmented-worm-like'.

Initially the components referred separately to 'a cut-off part' ('segment'), an invertebrate ('worm'), and likeness ('-like'); over time they fused into the compound adjective meaning 'resembling a segmented worm'.