'amylase-producing' originates from Modern English compounding of 'amylase' and the present-participle form 'producing'. 'Amylase' itself comes from Neo-Latin 'amylase', where the combining form 'amyl-' derives from Latin 'amylum' (from Greek 'amylon') meaning 'starch', and the suffix '-ase' was coined in enzyme nomenclature to denote enzymes.

'Amylase' changed from Greek 'amylon' → Latin 'amylum' → Neo-Latin/modern scientific form 'amyl-' and finally the enzyme name 'amylase' in the 19th century; 'produce' comes from Latin 'producere' ('pro-' forward + 'ducere' to lead), passed into Old French and Middle English and developed the modern verb 'produce', from which the present participle 'producing' is formed. The compound 'amylase-producing' is a modern descriptive formation in English.

Initially the elements referred separately to 'starch' (amyl-) and to the enzyme naming suffix (-ase) and to the action 'producing'; over time the compound came to be used specifically to describe organisms or tissues that make or secrete the enzyme amylase.