'erythropoietic' originates from modern scientific coinage based on Greek elements: Greek 'erythros' (ἐρυθρός) meaning 'red' and Greek 'poiēsis' (ποίησις) meaning 'making' or 'production', combined with the English/Neo-Latin adjectival suffix '-etic'.

'erythropoietic' was formed in Modern/Neo-Latin medical terminology (e.g. Neo-Latin 'erythropoieticus') from Greek roots ('erythros' + 'poiein'/'poiesis') and entered English usage as a technical adjective describing red-blood-cell production.

Initially the elements literally meant 'red' + 'making' (i.e. 'red-making'); over time the compound came to specifically denote 'relating to the production of red blood cells' in medical and biological contexts.