system

Where does the word "system" come from? It comes from Greek histanai, passing through Greek before entering English (1600s).

System’s story begins in Greek: histanai meant “to stand.” To stand, combined with syn- (together). Within Greek, it grew into synistanai by ancient. To combine, to set together, from syn- and histanai. By ancient, Greek speakers had reshaped it into systema. An organized whole, a combination, from synistanai. It reached English by 1600s as system. Settled as the English word for a set of interconnected parts forming a whole. Today, system means a set of interconnected parts or elements that function together as a whole.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient histanai "to stand", to stand, combined with syn- (together).
2. Stage 2 · Greek · ancient synistanai "to combine, to set together", to combine, to set together, from syn- and histanai.
3. Stage 3 · Greek · ancient systema "an organized whole, a combination", an organized whole, a combination, from synistanai.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1600s system "a set of interconnected parts forming a whole", settled as the English word for a set of interconnected parts forming a whole.