'asynchronism' originates from Greek elements via Latin/French and modern English, specifically from the prefix 'a-' + Greek 'synchronos', where 'a-' meant 'not' and 'synchronos' meant 'same time (together in time)'.

'synchronos' (Greek: σύγχρονος, 'same time') gave rise to Latin/French forms such as 'synchronus'/'synchronisme', which entered English as 'synchronism'; 'asynchronism' was formed later by adding the negative prefix 'a-' to this base.

Initially it carried the literal sense 'not at the same time' from its Greek components; over time it has come to be used generally for 'lack of synchronization' and specifically in technical contexts to denote temporal mismatch between processes or signals.