'source-specific' is a modern English compound formed from 'source' + 'specific'. 'source' originates from Old French 'sourse' (also 'sourche'), ultimately from Latin roots associated with 'surgere' (to rise) where the earlier sense was 'a spring' or 'origin'; 'specific' originates from Latin 'specificus', built from 'species' (appearance, kind) and the suffix related to 'facere' (to make).

'source' changed from Old French 'sourse' / Middle English 'sourche' into the modern English 'source'. 'specific' came into English via Medieval Latin/French from Latin 'specificus' (from 'species' + a formative element), leading to the modern adjective 'specific'. The compound 'source-specific' is a relatively recent English formation combining these elements.

Initially, 'source' primarily denoted a spring or point of origin and 'specific' meant 'of a particular kind'; over time the compound came to mean 'pertaining specifically to a particular source' — i.e., characteristics or results that are tied to that origin rather than generally applicable.