'ankylolytic' originates from Greek roots: 'ankyl-' from Greek 'ankylos' meaning 'bent, crooked, joined/fused' and the suffix '-lytic' from Greek 'lytikos' meaning 'able to loosen or dissolve'.

'ankylolytic' was formed in New Latin/medical English from the Greek stem 'ankylos' (via 'ankylosis' meaning pathological joint fusion) combined with the Greek-derived suffix '-lytic'; the compound thus entered modern medical vocabulary as 'ankylolytic'.

Initially the root 'ankyl-' referred to 'bent' or 'crooked' and later to pathological fusion ('ankylosis'); over time the compound came to mean 'causing or promoting the loosening/dissolution of ankylosis' in modern medical usage.