'differently-awned' originates from Modern English as a descriptive compound combining the adverb 'differently' and the past-participial/adjectival form 'awned' (from 'awn'). 'Differently' derives from 'different' + the adverbial suffix '-ly'.

'different' comes into English via Middle English and Old French ultimately from Latin 'differens' (from 'differre', 'dis-' + 'ferre'). 'Awn' is a Germanic/Old English word referring to a bristle on grasses; the compound 'differently-awned' is a modern formation in English to describe variation in awns.

Individually, 'different' historically meant 'standing apart' and 'awn' has long meant 'a bristle'; combined in Modern English the compound came to mean 'having bristles that are not the same'—a straightforward compositional meaning rather than a broad semantic shift.