'amphibole-bearing' is a compound combining 'amphibole' and 'bearing.' 'Amphibole' ultimately comes from Greek 'amphibolos,' and 'bearing' comes from Old English 'beran' meaning 'to carry.'

'Amphibole' entered scientific usage in modern European languages (via German/French mineralogical terms such as 'Amphibol'/'amphibole') and was adopted into English as 'amphibole.' 'Bearing' developed from Old English 'beran' through Middle English (e.g. 'beren') to modern English 'bear' with the present-participial/adjectival form 'bearing.' The compound 'amphibole-bearing' formed in technical geology to describe rocks that 'carry/contain' amphibole minerals.

Originally, the Greek root 'amphibolos' meant 'ambiguous' or 'of two kinds,' and the mineral name was applied in mineralogy to a variable group of minerals; 'bearing' originally meant 'carrying' and evolved into an adjectival form meaning 'containing' in compounds like this. The combined modern meaning is 'containing amphibole minerals.'