'backchat' originates from the combination of 'back' (Old English 'bæc' meaning 'back') and 'chat' (from Middle English 'chateren' meaning 'to chatter' or 'to talk').

'backchat' appears in 19th-century English as the hyphenated form 'back-chat' and later became the single word 'backchat' in modern usage.

Initially it referred simply to talking back or replying; over time it took on the more specific sense of a rude or impertinent reply.