'yellow-toned' originates from English, specifically the words 'yellow' and 'tone', where 'yellow' ultimately comes from Old English 'geolu' (from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz) meaning 'yellow', and 'tone' comes via Old French 'ton' from Latin 'tonus' (and Greek 'tonos') meaning 'tone' or 'pitch' and later 'shade' or 'tint'.

'yellow' changed from Old English 'geolu' to Middle English forms like 'yelowe' and eventually to modern English 'yellow'. 'tone' evolved from Latin 'tonus' to Old French 'ton' and Middle English 'ton(e)', broadening from 'pitch/sound' to also mean 'shade' or 'tint'; the compound 'yellow-toned' is a modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially, 'yellow' referred simply to the color and 'tone' primarily to pitch or quality; over time 'tone' acquired the color sense of 'shade' or 'tint', so 'yellow-toned' came to mean 'having a yellow tint'.