'gender equality' is a compound of 'gender' and 'equality'. 'gender' originates from Old French 'gendre', ultimately from Latin 'genus' where 'genus' meant 'kind, type'. 'equality' originates from Latin 'aequalitas', via Old French 'egalité' (from 'aequus' meaning 'equal').

'gender' entered Middle English from Old French 'gendre' (originally meaning 'family, kind') and later shifted in usage from grammatical category to social/identity sense in the 20th century; 'equality' passed from Latin 'aequalitas' into Old French 'egalité' and then into Middle English as 'equality'.

Initially, 'gender' meant 'kind' or a grammatical category, but over time it evolved to commonly denote social and identity distinctions between males, females, and non-binary people; 'equality' originally meant 'levelness' or 'evenness' and evolved into the modern sense of equal rights, opportunities, and legal/social status.