'system-centric' originates from the combination of 'system' and the suffix '-centric', where 'system' refers to a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, and '-centric' means centered around or focused on.

'System' comes from the Latin word 'systema', which was derived from the Greek word 'sustēma', meaning 'organized whole'. The suffix '-centric' is derived from the Greek word 'kentrikos', meaning 'pertaining to a center'.

Initially, it meant 'centered around a system', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.