'anterevolutionary' originates from Latin prefix 'ante-' meaning 'before' combined with English 'revolutionary' (from 'revolution').

'revolution' derives from Latin 'revolutio' (from 'revolvere', 'to roll back'); 'revolutionary' developed in English from that noun; 'anterevolutionary' is a modern English compound formed by adding the Latin prefix 'ante-' to 'revolutionary'.

Initially it simply denoted 'before a turning or overthrow'; over time it has been used specifically to describe people, institutions, or conditions that existed before a political or social revolution and sometimes to imply opposition to revolutionary change.