'single-frame' is a compound of 'single' + 'frame'. 'single' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'singulus' (via Old French), where 'singulus' meant 'one, individual'. 'frame' originates from Old English (and Proto-Germanic roots) referring to a structure or form used to enclose or shape.

'single' entered English via Old French from Latin 'singulus'; 'frame' developed from Old English terms for structure/shape and related Germanic words. The two elements combined in Modern English as a compound adjective/noun 'single-frame' to denote a single unit of a frame-based medium.

Initially, the components meant 'one/individual' and 'a structure or molded form' respectively; over time the compound came to be used specifically in photography, film, and animation to mean 'one image or exposure,' a narrower technical sense.