The word 'watering' is a transparent English formation built directly from its root. The base 'water' originates from the Proto-Germanic watōr, a fundamental term for the liquid essential to life. The addition of the '-ing' suffix, a productive morpheme in English since its Old English period, transforms the noun or verb into a form denoting the action, process, or state associated with it. Thus, the literal sense of "the act of applying water" logically extends to physiological metaphors, describing eyes that produce liquid (tears) or a mouth producing liquid (saliva), maintaining a clear conceptual link to the source.

Structure: water (noun/verb) + ing (suffix) - water: From Old English 'wæter', of Proto-Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'water' and German 'Wasser'. Functions as the base noun/verb. - ing: A suffix of Old English origin, used to form the present participle of verbs (verbal noun) or to form nouns from verbs (gerund). Functions as a derivational suffix.