'thick-toed' is a modern English compound formed from 'thick' + 'toed'. 'thick' originates from Old English 'þicce' where the root meant 'fat' or 'dense'; 'toe' originates from Old English 'tā' (later Middle English 'toe'), meaning 'digit of the foot', and the adjectival form 'toed' is created by adding the suffix '-ed' meaning 'having'.

'thick' developed from Old English 'þicce' into Middle English 'thikke' and modern English 'thick'; 'toe' developed from Old English 'tā' into Middle English 'toe', and compounds like 'thick-toed' are formed in Modern English by combining the adjective 'thick' with the past-participial/adjectival '-toed' form.

Initially, the components simply meant 'thick' and 'toe'; when combined as 'thick-toed' in Modern English it has the straightforward descriptive meaning 'having thick toes', a sense that has remained consistent.