'arthropod-borne' is a compound formed from 'arthropod' + 'borne'. 'Arthropod' ultimately comes from Greek, specifically the elements 'arthron' meaning 'joint' and 'pous' meaning 'foot' (via New Latin 'Arthropoda'), while 'borne' is the past participle of Old English 'beran' meaning 'to carry'.

'arthropod' was coined in Modern Latin/biological taxonomy from Greek roots 'arthron' + 'pous' and entered scientific English in the 19th century; 'borne' developed from Old English 'beran' → Middle English 'bren/beren' → past participle forms 'born/borne' and combined with 'arthropod' in 20th-century medical usage to form the compound 'arthropod-borne'.

Originally 'borne' simply meant 'carried'; in the compound 'arthropod-borne' the sense specialized to 'carried/transmitted by arthropods' (particularly referring to disease transmission).