System Means Things Standing Together
A system is a set of connected parts. The Greek root means to stand together, and the word entered English through astronomy and music.
A system is a set of connected parts working as a whole. The Greek *systema* means a standing-together — from *syn*, with, and *histanai*, to set up. English took it in the 1600s for the arrangement of the heavens and for the structure of musical scales, before it spread to bodies, governments, machines and finally everything.
- A set of connected parts. *The nervous system.*
- A method. *A filing system.*
- Established institutions. *Working within the system.*
- Systematic — done methodically. *A systematic search.*
- Systemic — affecting the whole. *Systemic failure.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | system | A closed system. |
| Plural | systems | Two systems. |
| Adjective | systematic | Systematic review. |
| Adjective | systemic | Systemic risk. |
| Verb | systematise | Systematise the data. |
- The whole system went down at nine.Technology.
- A systematic search of the building.Method.
- Systemic problems need structural answers.Whole-system.
Systematic or systemic?
- Systematic — done according to a plan, methodical
- Systemic — belonging to or affecting the whole system
- A systematic error — one that repeats in the same direction
- A systemic risk — one that threatens an entire market
- A useful test — if you can substitute *methodical*, the word is systematic
Late Latin *systema*, from Greek *systema*, an organised whole. English adopted it in the 1610s and its use widened steadily from then on.
What is the difference between systemic and systematic?
Systemic means affecting a whole system. Systematic means done in an organised, methodical way.
Where was system first used in English?
In astronomy and music theory in the early 1600s, for organised arrangements of bodies or notes.