'semi-cured' originates from Latin, specifically the prefix 'semi-' where 'semi-' meant 'half', combined with 'cured' ultimately from Latin 'curare'/'cura' where 'curare' meant 'to take care' or 'to heal'.

'cure' came into English via Old French and Middle English (Old French 'curer', Medieval Latin/Latin 'curare' > Middle English 'curen'), and the Latin prefix 'semi-' has been used in English compounds since the Renaissance; these elements combined in modern English to form the compound 'semi-cured'.

Initially, 'cura/curare' meant 'care' or 'to heal'; over time the sense broadened to include 'to preserve or process' (as in curing foods or materials). 'Semi-cured' therefore evolved to mean 'partly treated/partly processed' in modern use.