'water-bearer-related' originates from English compounding: 'water' (Old English 'wæter'), 'bearer' (from verb 'bear' + agent suffix '-er'), and 'related' (from Latin 'relatus' via past participle of 'referre').

'water' comes from Old English 'wæter', 'bearer' was formed in Middle English from the verb 'bear' plus '-er', and 'related' entered English via Latin 'relatus' through Old French/Medieval Latin before forming the modern adjective; the compound was formed by productive English compounding to mean 'connected to a water-bearer'.

Initially, the parts referred to 'water', an agent who 'bears' and the notion of being 'related'; over time the compound has come to be used descriptively to indicate association with either the symbolic water-bearer (Aquarius) or the organism called the water bear (tardigrade).