'anaretic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'anairesis,' where 'anairein' meant 'to take up, to destroy.'

'anairesis' was adopted into Medieval Latin as 'anareticus,' and eventually became the modern English word 'anaretic' through astrological terminology.

Initially, it referred to the act of taking up or destroying, but in astrology, it evolved to mean the critical final degree of a zodiac sign, often associated with crisis or culmination.