'steel' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'stēle', where the root *stahl- meant 'hard metal'; 'frame' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'fram' (and related Old Norse forms), where it meant 'structure' or 'support'. The compound 'steel-framed' is formed by combining these with the suffix '-ed' to indicate 'having a frame of'.

'steel' developed from Proto-Germanic '*stahliją' into Old English 'stēle' and later modern English 'steel'; 'frame' came via Old English/Old Norse forms like 'fram'/'fræm' meaning 'structure'. These elements combined in Modern English to produce the compound adjective 'steel-framed' describing something built with a steel frame.

Initially the components referred separately to the material 'steel' and the noun 'frame'; over time the compound came to be used adjectivally to mean 'constructed with a structural frame of steel'.