'snug-fingered' is a compound formed from English 'snug' + 'fingered' (the participial/adjectival form of 'finger'), where 'snug' meant 'close, secure, comfortable' and 'fingered' means 'having or fitted to fingers'.

'snug' entered English in the 17th–18th century with senses of 'compact' and 'comfortable', while 'finger' is from Old English 'finger'. The compound 'snug-fingered' arose by straightforward compounding (commonly used in 19th–20th century descriptive English) to describe gloves or hands that are closely fitted or neatly fingered.

Initially built from the literal senses of its parts ('snug' = close/secure; 'fingered' = relating to fingers), the compound retained a primarily literal meaning ('fitted closely to the fingers') and gained a rare literary sense of 'dexterous' in some usages.