'under-recognized' originates from the combination of the English prefix 'under-' (Old English 'under') and the verb 'recognize' which ultimately comes from Latin 'recognoscere', where 're-' meant 'again' and 'gnoscere' (or 'noscere') meant 'to know'.

'under-' (Old English) + 'recognize' (from Latin 'recognoscere' via Old French reconoistre/reconnoistre) combined in Modern English as the verb 'under-recognize' and the adjective 'under-recognized'.

Initially, 'recognize' meant 'to know again' (from Latin), but over time it shifted to mean 'to identify or acknowledge'; prefixed by 'under-' it developed the meaning 'to acknowledge insufficiently' or 'to be insufficiently acknowledged'.