'system-wide' originates from the combination of 'system' and 'wide', where 'system' refers to a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, and 'wide' means extending over a large area.

'system-wide' evolved from the need to describe actions or effects that impact an entire system, rather than just parts of it.

Initially, it meant 'covering a large area within a system', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.