'hormone-treated' originates from the combination of 'hormone' and 'treated', where 'hormone' refers to a regulatory substance produced in organisms and 'treated' means having undergone a process or treatment.

'hormone' comes from the Greek word 'hormōn', meaning 'to set in motion', and 'treated' is derived from the Old French 'traitier', meaning 'to handle or deal with'.

Initially, 'hormone-treated' referred specifically to medical treatments involving hormones, but it has evolved to include agricultural and food contexts.