'bacteriogenous' originates from New Latin and Greek elements, specifically the combining form 'bacterio-' from New Latin 'bacterium' (from Greek 'bakterion'), where 'bakterion' meant 'small staff', and the suffix '-genous' from Greek 'genēs', where 'genēs' meant 'born of' or 'producing'.

'bacteriogenous' was formed in modern scientific English by combining the New Latin/Greek combining form 'bacterio-' with the Greek-derived suffix '-genous' rather than evolving through a distinct medieval English ancestor; the term arose as bacteriology and related sciences developed in the 19th century.

Initially the components literally conveyed 'born of or produced by bacteria'; over time the assembled modern term has come to be used in medical and scientific contexts to mean 'produced by or caused by bacteria' with that same core sense.