'tapered-snouted' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound of the past-participial adjectives 'tapered' (from 'taper' + '-ed') and 'snouted' (from 'snout' + '-ed'), where 'taper' conveyed the idea 'to become or make narrow' and 'snout' meant 'nose or projecting mouthpart'.

'tapered' developed as the past-participle/adjectival form of the verb 'taper' (attested in Middle to Modern English) and 'snouted' as the adjectival form of 'snout' (from Middle English 'snout'/'snoute'); the descriptive compound 'tapered-snouted' arose in Modern English by joining those adjectival elements to describe a narrowing nose or muzzle.

Initially each element meant roughly 'made narrow' (tapered) and 'having a snout' (snouted); combined in Modern English they came to mean specifically 'having a snout that tapers to a point' with little semantic shift beyond the compound description.