'anhydride' originates from French, specifically the word 'anhydride', ultimately from Greek 'anhydros', where 'an-' meant 'without' and 'hydor' meant 'water'.

'anhydride' entered English from French in the early 19th century as a chemical term and eventually became the modern English word 'anhydride'.

Initially, it meant 'waterless; lacking water', but in chemistry it evolved into its current meaning of 'a compound derived by removing water from another compound'.