'gangland-style' originates from modern English, composed of the compounds 'gangland' and 'style'. 'gangland' is formed from 'gang' + 'land', where 'gang' meant 'a group' and 'land' meant 'territory'. 'style' comes from Old French/Latin roots meaning 'manner' or 'way of doing'.

'gang' derived from Old English 'gang' meaning 'a going, a way, a journey' and later came to mean 'a group'; 'gangland' emerged in the late 19th/early 20th century to denote areas controlled by gangs, and combining it with 'style' produced the modern compound 'gangland-style' to describe manner or appearance associated with organized crime.

Initially, components referred separately to 'a group/territory' and 'manner'; over time the compound came to mean 'in the manner of gangland'—i.e., actions or styles characteristic of organized-crime settings, often violent or theatrical.