'inegalitarian' originates from English, specifically the combination 'in-' + 'egalitarian', where 'in-' meant 'not' and 'egalitarian' derives from French 'égalitaire' (from 'égal') meaning 'equal'.

'inegalitarian' developed by adding the negative prefix 'in-' to English 'egalitarian' (itself from French 'égalitaire', ultimately from Latin 'aequalis'), resulting in the modern English word 'inegalitarian'.

Initially it was simply the negation of 'egalitarian' (i.e. 'not egalitarian'), but over time it has come to be used especially to describe policies, systems, or attitudes that actively produce or maintain inequality.