'semitone-bearing' is a modern English compound formed from 'semitone' + 'bearing', where 'semitone' combines the prefix 'semi-' (from Latin, meaning 'half') with 'tone' and 'bearing' is the present-participle form of 'bear' meaning 'carrying' or 'having'.

'semitone' itself comes from Latin-based prefix 'semi-' + 'tone' (from Greek 'tonos' via Latin and French), while 'bearing' derives from Old English 'beran' (to carry); the compound arose in technical musical usage in modern English by joining these elements to describe something that 'carries' or 'contains' a semitone.

Initially the parts meant 'half' (for 'semi-') and 'tone' (pitch unit) and 'to carry' (for 'bear'); together they have come to mean 'carrying or containing a semitone' in a musical/technical sense.