'anoxybiotic' originates from Greek-derived combining forms: the privative prefix 'an-' meaning 'without', the element 'oxy-' (from Greek 'oxys') later associated with 'oxygen', and 'biotic' from Greek 'bios' meaning 'life'.

'anoxybiotic' is a modern scientific/Neo-Latin formation created by combining classical Greek elements ('an-' + 'oxy-' + 'biotic') in the 19th-20th century tradition of coining biological terms; it follows the pattern of words like 'anaerobic' and 'aerobiotic'.

Initially coined to denote 'pertaining to life in the absence of oxygen', the term has retained that specialized biological meaning in modern usage.