'cluster-bearing' originates from modern English as a compound of 'cluster' and the present participle 'bearing', where 'cluster' meant 'a bunch or group' and 'bearing' (from 'bear') meant 'carrying' or 'producing'.

'cluster' developed in Middle English from earlier forms meaning 'a bunch or cluster', while 'bearing' is from the verb 'bear' (Old English 'beran'); the compound form 'cluster-bearing' is a modern English descriptive compound formed by combining those elements.

Initially the elements meant 'group/bunch' and 'to carry/produce'; as a compound it came to mean simply 'having or producing clusters' in contexts such as botany or technical description.