'other-directed' originates from modern English as a compound of 'other' and the past-participle adjective 'directed'. 'Other' ultimately comes from Old English 'ōþer' meaning 'the second' or 'other', and 'directed' derives from the verb 'direct', which comes via Old French from Latin 'dirigere' where 'di-/dir-' meant 'apart'/'in different directions' and 'regere' meant 'to guide or rule'.

'other' evolved from Old English 'ōþer' and kept the basic meaning 'other/second'; 'direct' entered English from Latin 'dirigere' through Old French (e.g. 'directer') and Middle English forms (e.g. 'directen'), and the past-participle form 'directed' became a common adjective. The compound 'other-directed' appears in 20th-century English, notably in sociological and psychological writing (for example, David Riesman's discussion of the 'other-directed' personality in mid-20th-century social analysis).

The component parts originally meant 'the second/other' and 'to guide/turn,' but combined in modern usage they denote being 'guided by others' or 'influenced primarily by other people' rather than a literal physical direction.