'article-bearing' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the noun 'article' (from Latin 'articulus' via Old French 'article') and the gerund/participle 'bearing' (from Old English 'beran', 'to carry'); here 'article' came to mean a grammatical particle or a distinct item and 'bearing' means 'carrying' or 'having'.

'article' changed from Latin 'articulus' (originally 'a small joint, division, or a distinct piece') into Old French 'article' and then Middle English 'article' meaning 'a separate item' and later 'grammatical article'; 'bearing' derives from Old English forms such as 'berende' (present participle of 'beran') and developed into Modern English 'bearing'. The compound 'article-bearing' is a Modern English descriptive formation combining these elements.

Initially, the components referred to 'a distinct piece' ('articulus') and 'carrying' ('beran'); over time 'article' acquired the grammatical sense ('a'/'the'), so the compound evolved to include the specialized sense 'having an article' (grammatical) as well as the literal sense 'carrying an item'.