The compound adjective 'women-specific' is a modern formation that transparently combines two established English words. The first element, 'women', originates from the Old English concept of a "female human," itself a compound meaning "wife-person." The second element, 'specific', entered English via French from Latin, where it denoted something that "makes a particular kind." When combined, the term literally means "making a particular kind for women," which evolved into its modern abstract sense of being designed or applicable exclusively to women. This logical construction follows a common pattern in English for creating precise, descriptive compound adjectives.

Structure: women (plural of woman) + specific (particular) - women: From Old English wīfmann ("woman, female servant"), a compound of wīf ("woman, wife") + mann ("person, human being"). The plural form underwent sound changes from Middle English wimmen. - specific: From Late Latin specificus ("constituting a kind or sort"), from Latin species ("a particular sort, kind") + -ficus ("making, doing"), from facere ("to make, do").