'single-season' originates from Modern English, formed by compounding 'single' and 'season'. 'single' ultimately comes from Latin 'singulus', where 'singul-' meant 'one, single'; 'season' comes via Old French 'seison/saison' from Latin 'satio' (related to sowing/time).

'single-season' developed in Modern English as a compound of 'single' (from Latin 'singulus' through Old French and Middle English) and 'season' (from Old French 'seison/saison' from Latin 'satio'), and came into use for contexts like agriculture, sports, and later broadcast/entertainment.

The component words originally meant 'one' (for 'single') and 'time for sowing / a time of year' (for 'season'); over time the compound took on the specific meaning 'lasting or occurring for only one season.'