'backward-facing' originates from English, specifically formed from 'backward' + the verb 'face' with the present participle suffix '-ing', where 'backward' meant 'toward the back' and 'face' meant 'to turn or be directed'.

'backward' comes from Old English 'æftweard' (where 'æft' meant 'back' and 'weard' meant 'toward'), which became Middle English 'bakward' and later modern English 'backward'. The verb 'face' derives from Old French 'face' (from Latin 'facies'), with the verbal sense developing in Middle English; combining 'face' + '-ing' produced 'facing', and the compound 'backward-facing' developed by modern compounding.

Initially, it meant 'turned toward the back' (physical sense), but over time it also acquired a figurative meaning of 'oriented toward the past' or 'conservative'.