The compound adjective 'yellow-haired' is a transparent formation from two deeply rooted English words. 'Yellow' descends from the Proto-Germanic gelwaz, a color term with cognates across Germanic languages, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root ghel- meaning 'to shine', which also gives rise to words for gold and various bright hues. 'Hair' originates from Proto-Germanic khēran, tracing back to a PIE root meaning 'bristle'. The suffix '-ed' is a native English grammatical element used to form possessional adjectives. The compound's logic is straightforwardly descriptive, directly combining the color attribute with the physical characteristic to denote an individual possessing blond hair, a common phenotypic descriptor in many cultures.

Structure: yellow (color) + haired (having hair) - yellow: From Old English geolu, geolwe, of Germanic origin; related to German gelb. Denotes the color. - haired: From Old English hǣr (hair) + the suffix -ed, forming adjectives meaning 'having' or 'characterized by'.