'topic-centred' originates from English, specifically a compound of the noun 'topic' and 'centre' with the adjectival suffix '-ed'. 'topic' ultimately comes from Greek 'topos' (via Latin/Medieval Latin and Old French), where 'topos' meant 'place' and by extension 'subject' or 'theme'; 'centre' comes from Latin 'centrum' (via Old French 'centre'), where 'centrum' meant 'center point'.

'topic' entered English via Latin/Medieval Latin 'topicus' and Old French influences and developed the sense 'subject' or 'theme'; 'centre' passed from Greek 'kentron' to Latin 'centrum' to Old French 'centre' and into Middle English as 'centre' (later U.S. spelling 'center'). The compound 'topic-centred' formed in modern English by combining these elements with '-ed' to make an adjective.

Initially the sources referred to 'place' (Greek 'topos') and 'center point' (Latin 'centrum'), but over time 'topic' came to mean 'subject' and the compound evolved to mean 'organized around a subject' — the current sense of 'topic-centred'.