'thick-cut' originates from Modern English, specifically a compound of the words 'thick' and 'cut', where 'thick' meant 'having relatively great distance between two surfaces; dense' and 'cut' meant 'a portion separated by cutting (a slice or incision)'.

'thick' derives from Old English 'þicce' (meaning 'thick, dense') and developed through Middle English into the modern form 'thick'. 'cut' developed in Middle English (from forms like 'cutten' and related Germanic sources) meaning 'to divide or remove by slicing', and the compound 'thick-cut' arose in modern usage (especially culinary contexts) to describe items cut into thick slices.

The compound originally and straightforwardly meant 'cut thickly'; over time it has remained consistent in culinary and descriptive contexts to mean 'having thick slices' and is also used informally as a noun for a thick slice.