'eye-fatiguing' is a compound of English 'eye' and the present participle 'fatiguing'; 'eye' comes from Old English 'ēage' meaning 'eye', and 'fatiguing' derives from French 'fatigant'/'fatiguer' meaning 'to tire'.

'fatiguing' comes from French 'fatigant'/'fatiguer', which in turn comes from Late Latin 'fatigare'; 'eye' comes from Old English 'ēage'. The two elements were combined in modern English to form the descriptive compound 'eye-fatiguing'.

Initially the root 'fatigare' meant 'to make weary' or 'to tire'; over time the compound came to denote specifically causing tiredness or strain of the eyes.