'human-legged' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'human' + 'leg' with the adjectival suffix '-ed', where 'human' (from Latin 'humanus') referred to 'of or belonging to people' and 'leg' (from Old English 'leg'/'legg') referred to a limb for standing or walking.

'human' entered English via Old French and Middle English from Latin 'humanus'; 'leg' comes from Old English 'leg' or 'legg'. The compound form 'human-legged' is a transparent Modern English formation combining the two stems with '-ed' to form an adjective meaning 'having legs of the human type'.

Initially the elements referred separately to 'human' and 'leg'; over time they were combined into a single descriptive adjective meaning 'possessing human legs' without additional figurative senses.