'landlordism' originates from English, specifically formed from the compound 'landlord' plus the suffix '-ism', where 'landlord' meant an owner or controller of land and '-ism' denoted a practice, system, or ideology.

'landlord' changed from Middle English 'landlorde' (a compound of 'land' + 'lorde') and 'lord' itself derives from Old English 'hlāford' (originally meaning 'bread-keeper'/'loaf-ward'); the productive suffix '-ism' comes into English via Latin/French/Greek to denote systems or doctrines, producing 'landlordism' to describe the system or practice associated with landlords.

Initially, the components referred simply to a person who owns land ('landlord') and the abstract noun-forming suffix ('-ism'); over time 'landlordism' came to be used specifically to describe the social/economic system and often carries a critical or political sense of landlord dominance or exploitation.