Meaning

noun instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity

noun a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole

noun (physical chemistry) a sample of matter in which substances in different phases are in equilibrium

originPartly borrowed from Middle French sisteme, systeme, partly directly from its etymon Late Latin systēma (“harmony; musical scale; set of celestial objects; set of troops; system”), from Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma, “musical scale; organized body; whole made of several parts or members”), from σῠνίστημῐ (sŭnístēmĭ, “to combine, organize”) + -μᾰ (-mă, resultative suffix). σῠνίστημῐ is from σῠν-…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0