'unevenly-kept' originates from the combination of 'unevenly' and 'kept', where 'unevenly' is derived from 'uneven', meaning 'not level or smooth', and 'kept' is the past participle of 'keep', meaning 'to maintain'.

'unevenly' changed from the Old English word 'unefen', meaning 'not even', and 'kept' from the Old English 'cepan', meaning 'to seize or hold'.

Initially, 'unevenly' meant 'not level', and 'kept' meant 'maintained'. Together, they evolved to describe something maintained in an irregular manner.