'single-bearing' originates from English as a compound of 'single' and the present participle 'bearing'. 'single' ultimately comes from Latin 'singulus' (via Old French 'sengle'), where 'singul-' meant 'one each'; 'bearing' comes from Old English 'beran' meaning 'to carry'.

'single' came into English via Old French (from Latin 'singulus'), and 'bearing' is the modern participle form of Old English 'beran'/'berian'. The compound 'single-bearing' is a Modern English formation combining these elements to describe 'carrying one'.

Initially the components meant 'one' and 'to carry'; combined, the phrase originally meant simply 'carrying one' and has retained that literal sense, though its usage has narrowed in technical fields (e.g., botany, navigation) to specific senses such as 'producing a single fruit' or 'having one bearing'.