The word "team-by-team" is a modern English compound phrase, not a classical formation. Its logic is entirely transparent and syntactic, built from the reduplication of the noun "team" connected by the preposition "by". The core word "team" has an ancient lineage, evolving from a Proto-Germanic concept related to pulling or drawing (as in a team of oxen) to its modern sense of a group working together. The preposition "by" adds the relational sense of proximity or sequence. When combined and reduplicated, the phrase creates an adjectival or adverbial meaning denoting a sequential, individual consideration of each unit within a collective, perfectly mirroring the literal reading of the construction. It exemplifies how English flexibly creates new, semantically clear terms through the compounding of native elements.

This is a compound phrase formed from the English word "team" and the preposition "by", reduplicated. "Team" originates from Old English tēam (childbearing, offspring, a group of draft animals), from Proto-Germanic taumaz (that which pulls or draws). "By" originates from Old English bī (near, at, during), from Proto-Germanic bī.