'throughput' originates from the combination of 'through' and 'put', where 'through' meant 'from one end to the other' and 'put' meant 'to place or set'.

'throughput' was formed in the 20th century as a technical term in engineering and computing.

Initially, it meant 'the act of putting through', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'the amount of material or items passing through a system or process'.