'target-oriented' originates from modern English, formed from the noun 'target' and the adjective/verb element 'oriented'. 'target' itself originates from Old French, specifically the word 'targette' (a diminutive of 'targe'), where 'targe' meant 'shield' (a small, round object used as a mark). 'orient' (the root of 'oriented') originates from Latin via French, specifically the Medieval Latin/French verb 'orienter', where the Latin root 'oriri' meant 'to rise' (originally referring to the east, the place of the rising sun).

'target' came into English from Old French 'targette' and 'targe' and came to mean a mark or object at which something is aimed. The verb/adjective form 'orient' came into English from French 'orienter' (from Latin 'orient-'), originally meaning 'to turn toward the east'; the sense "to align toward a direction" extended to mean 'to align toward a goal'. The compound 'target-oriented' developed in modern business and technical English in the 20th century by combining these elements to mean 'aligned toward a target or goal'.

Initially, elements like 'orient' were tied to the literal east or rising (the sun), but over time 'orient' broadened to mean 'to position or align toward a direction or goal.' Combined with 'target,' the modern meaning became 'directed toward a specific goal or measurable outcome.'