'tissue-bearing' originates from two English elements: 'tissue' (from Old French 'tissu', from the verb 'tisser' meaning 'to weave') and 'bearing' (the present participle of 'bear', from Old English 'beran' meaning 'to carry' or 'to bear').

'tissue' passed into English via Old French 'tissu' (from 'tisser' 'to weave') and came in Middle English with senses including woven fabric before extending to biological 'tissue'; 'bearing' comes from Old English 'beran' through Middle English 'beren' and survived as the present participle 'bearing', forming the modern compound 'tissue-bearing' in Modern English.

Initially, 'tissue' primarily referred to woven cloth or fabric and later came to include biological tissue; 'bearing' has long meant 'carrying' or 'having', so the compound evolved to mean 'having or carrying tissue' in its current biological sense.