'underclassman' originates from the combination of 'under' and 'classman,' where 'under' meant 'below' and 'classman' referred to a member of a class or year in school.

'underclassman' evolved from the term 'underclass,' which referred to the lower classes in society, and was adapted to the educational context to denote students in the lower years.

Initially, it referred to students in the lower classes of society, but over time it evolved to specifically denote students in the first or second year of high school or college.