'beast-headed' originates from English, specifically the words 'beast' and 'headed', where 'beast' originally meant 'animal' (from Old French 'beste' and Latin 'bestia') and 'head' comes from Old English 'heafod' meaning 'head'.

'beast' entered Middle English from Old French 'beste' (from Latin 'bestia'), and 'head' comes from Old English 'heafod'; the compound 'beast-headed' is formed in Modern English by combining 'beast' + 'headed' (head + -ed) to describe having the head of a beast.

Initially the components referred simply to 'animal' and 'head', and when combined the compound has consistently meant 'having the head of an animal'; the basic descriptive meaning has remained stable.