'crisis-management' is a modern compound formed from the noun 'crisis' and the noun 'management'. 'Crisis' originates from Greek 'krisis' where 'krisis' meant 'decision' or 'turning point'. 'Management' originates from Late Latin/Old French via Italian; ultimately related to Latin 'manus' meaning 'hand' and verbs meaning 'to lead/drive'.

'crisis' passed into English via Latin and Middle French (from Greek 'krisis'), where it came to mean a decisive point or dangerous situation; 'management' developed from Italian 'maneggiare' (to handle, from 'mano' hand) into Old French 'mesnager'/'ménagement' and Middle English 'manage'/'management'. The compound 'crisis management' arose in the 20th century as organizational practices for handling emergencies became formalized.

Originally, 'crisis' primarily signified a decisive turning point or judgment; over time it has come to denote a dangerous or emergency situation requiring urgent action. 'Management' originally implied handling by hand and evolved to mean directing, controlling, or administering; together the compound now denotes organized actions to handle emergencies.