'tangentially-connected' originates from the word 'tangent,' which comes from Latin 'tangens,' meaning 'touching.' The suffix '-ally' indicates an adverbial form, and 'connected' comes from Latin 'connectere,' meaning 'to bind together.'

The term 'tangent' evolved from Latin 'tangens' to describe a line that touches a curve at a single point. 'Connected' evolved from Latin 'connectere' through Old French 'connecter' to modern English 'connect.'

Initially, 'tangent' referred to a geometric concept, but it evolved to describe anything that touches or is slightly related to another subject.