'seldom-awarded' originates from the combination of 'seldom' and 'awarded', where 'seldom' means 'not often' and 'awarded' means 'given as a prize or honor'.

'seldom' comes from Old English 'seldan', and 'awarded' is derived from the Old French 'eswarder', which means 'to judge'.

Initially, 'seldom' meant 'rarely' and 'awarded' meant 'given as a prize', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.