'undereducated' originates from the prefix 'under-' meaning 'below' or 'not enough' and the word 'educated' from Latin 'educatus', the past participle of 'educare', meaning 'to bring up or train'.

'undereducated' evolved from the combination of 'under-' and 'educated', which was influenced by the Latin 'educatus'.

Initially, it meant 'not sufficiently educated', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.