'backlist' originates from English, specifically the compound 'back' + 'list', where 'back' meant 'rear' or 'behind' and 'list' referred to a 'list or register' (a record of items).

'backlist' changed from the two-word phrase 'back list' used in the publishing trade (referring to a list of older titles) and eventually became the single word 'backlist' in modern publishing vocabulary.

Initially it meant 'a list or register of past/unsold items'; over time it evolved into the publishing-specific meaning of 'the catalog of a publisher's older titles' and is also used adjectivally (e.g., 'backlist titles').