'short-nosed' is a Modern English compound formed from the adjective 'short' and a past-participial/adjectival form of the noun 'nose'. 'short' ultimately comes from Old English 'sceort' meaning 'short', and 'nose' comes from Old English 'nosu' (from Proto-Germanic *nusus).

'short' evolved from Old English 'sceort' to Middle English 'short' and then to Modern English 'short'; 'nose' evolved from Old English 'nosu' to Middle English 'nose' and then to Modern English 'nose'; the compound 'short-nosed' is a straightforward Modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially the separate elements meant 'short' and 'nose' respectively; over time the compound came to be used adjectivally to denote 'having a short nose' with no major semantic shift from the literal components.