'lock-dependence' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'lock' and 'dependence'. 'lock' ultimately comes from Old English 'loc' meaning 'bolt, fastening', and 'dependence' derives from Latin 'dependēre' (via Old French and Middle English), where 'de-' is a prefix and 'pendere' meant 'to hang, to rely'.

'lock' changed from Old English 'loc' (a fastening or bolt) into Middle and Modern English 'lock'; 'dependence' evolved from Latin 'dependēre' to Old French 'dependance' and then to Middle English 'dependence', and the compound 'lock-dependence' is a modern technical formation used in computing literature.

Individually, 'lock' meant a fastening device and 'dependence' meant reliance; combined in modern technical usage they denote reliance of program correctness or progress on locking behavior, a specialized meaning related to concurrency rather than the original physical senses.