'antanagoge' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'antanágōgē' (ἀντανάγωγη), where the prefix 'anti-' meant 'against' or 'in return' and the root 'anágō' (ἀνάγω) meant 'to lead up' or 'bring back'.

'antanagoge' entered English via Late Latin and Medieval Latin rhetorical vocabulary and the study of classical Greek rhetoric; the term was used in scholastic and rhetorical texts before becoming a specialized English rhetorical term.

Initially it referred broadly to 'a leading back or counter-leading' in Greek rhetorical contexts; over time it narrowed to the specific rhetorical sense of offsetting a negative with a positive or responding to an accusation with a counter-accusation.