'sentence-level' originates from Modern English, specifically a compound of 'sentence' and 'level'. 'sentence' ultimately comes from Latin 'sententia' (from 'sentire'), where 'sententia' meant 'opinion' or 'feeling'. 'level' ultimately traces back through Old French/Medieval Latin to Latin 'libella', where 'libella' meant 'a small balance' (a tool for measuring horizontality).

'sentence' changed from Latin 'sententia' into Old French 'sentence' and then into Middle English 'sentence'. 'level' changed from Latin 'libella' through Old French (e.g. 'nivel'/'nivelle') into Middle English 'level'. In Modern English these elements combined to form the compound 'sentence-level' used in technical and analytical contexts.

Initially, 'sentence' primarily meant 'opinion' or 'judgment' and 'level' referred to a measuring device or flatness; over time 'sentence' acquired the grammatical sense of 'a unit of language' and 'level' developed the sense of 'degree or scale'. Combined, 'sentence-level' now means 'at the scale of a sentence'.