'wide-snouted' originates from Modern English, formed compositionally from the adjective 'wide' and the past-participial adjective-forming use of 'snout' ('snouted'). 'wide' traces back to Old English 'wīd' where the root meant 'broad' or 'extended', and 'snout' comes from Middle English 'snout', originally referring to a projecting nose or muzzle.

'wide' developed from Old English 'wīd' into Middle English and then Modern English 'wide'; 'snout' appears in Middle English as 'snout' (related to words for projecting noses in Germanic languages). The compound 'wide-snouted' is a transparent modern English formation combining those elements to describe animals with a broad snout.

Initially the elements meant 'broad' (for 'wide') and 'projecting nose/muzzle' (for 'snout'); combined as 'wide-snouted' the meaning has remained descriptive: 'having a broad snout.'