'tuberculogen' originates from Neo-Latin, specifically the word 'tuberculogenes', where 'tuberculo-' derived from Latin 'tuberculum' meant 'small swelling, tubercle' and the suffix '-gen' (from Greek 'genēs'/'genein') meant 'producing'.

'tuberculogen' changed from the Neo-Latin term 'tuberculogenes' used in medical and scientific Latin and eventually entered modern English usage in the 19th century alongside developments in bacteriology and pathology.

Initially, it meant 'producing tubercles'; over time the meaning has remained largely the same and is used to denote agents that cause tubercle formation or are linked to tuberculosis.