'anatomicals' is derived from the adjective 'anatomical', which comes from the word 'anatomy', originating from Greek 'anatomē', where 'ana-' meant 'up' and 'temnein' meant 'to cut'.

'anatomē' became Latin 'anatomia', then Old French 'anatomie', and eventually Middle English 'anatomy', from which 'anatomical' and the plural noun 'anatomicals' were formed.

Initially, 'anatomical' referred to anything relating to anatomy, but 'anatomicals' evolved in modern English to refer specifically to body-related products, especially toiletries.