'conditionalism' originates from English, formed by combining 'conditional' with the noun-forming suffix '-ism' (via Latin/Greek suffixes like '-ismus'). 'Conditional' ultimately traces back to Latin 'condicio' (condition), where 'con-' meant 'together' and 'dicere' meant 'to say' (giving a sense of an agreed stipulation).

'conditional' came into English from Old French/Latin sources: Latin 'condicio' → Old French 'condition'/'condicion' → Middle English 'condition' → modern English 'conditional' and later the derivative 'conditionalism'.

Initially related to a 'stipulation' or 'agreement' (a negotiated condition), the sense shifted toward 'dependence on conditions' and then to abstract doctrines or stances described as '-ism', yielding the modern sense of 'a doctrine or principle that something is conditional.'