The term is a modern compound adjective, a specific application of the past participle 'shortened'. The first element, 'strike', derives from the Old English verb meaning to stroke or go, which evolved to mean 'to hit' and, by the 18th century, to 'stop work' (as if striking the tools). 'Shorten' combines the Old English adjective for limited length with a verb-forming suffix. The compound 'strike-shortened' logically fuses these concepts: the act of striking (the work stoppage) is the direct cause of the shortening (of a word, schedule, or operation). It exemplifies how English flexibly creates precise descriptive terms by combining native Germanic roots.

Structure: strike (work stoppage) + short (make shorter) + en (verb suffix) + ed (adjective suffix) - strike: From Old English strīcan (to go, move, stroke). In this compound, it refers specifically to a concerted work stoppage. - short: From Old English sceort (short, not long). The verb 'shorten' means to make short. - en: A verb-forming suffix from Old English -nian. - ed: A suffix forming adjectives from verbs, from Old English -ed, -od, -ad.