'female-bearing' is a compound of 'female' and 'bearing'. 'female' originates from Old French 'femelle', ultimately from Latin 'femina' meaning 'woman', and 'bearing' comes from Old English 'beran' meaning 'to carry' or 'to bear'.

'female' came into Middle English from Old French 'femelle' (from Latin 'femina'), and 'bearing' developed from Old English forms of 'beran' (e.g. 'berende'); the compound 'female-bearing' is a modern English formation combining these elements to describe something that bears or produces females.

Individually, 'female' originally referred to 'woman' or 'female organism' and 'bearing' meant 'carrying' or 'producing'; combined, the compound came to mean 'carrying or producing females' in biological contexts and, by extension, 'having feminine characteristics' in descriptive usage.