'fever-producing' originates from a compound of the English word 'fever' and the present participle 'producing'. 'fever' ultimately comes from Latin 'febris' meaning 'fever', via Old English, and 'produce' comes from Latin 'producere', where 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'ducere' meant 'to lead'.

'fever-producing' developed from earlier expressions such as the two-word phrase 'fever producing' and was later written as the hyphenated compound 'fever-producing' in modern English; 'fever' itself developed from Old English forms influenced by Latin 'febris', while 'produce' entered English via Old French from Latin 'producere'.

Initially the elements meant 'fever' (a state of elevated temperature) and 'to bring forth' respectively; combined they have long meant 'bringing about fever' and this core meaning has remained consistent into modern usage.