'antero-palatal' is a compound formed from the combining form 'antero-' and 'palatal'. 'antero-' derives from Latin 'ante' meaning 'before' or 'in front of', used as a combining form to mean 'front, anterior'. 'palatal' comes from Latin 'palatum' meaning 'palate'.

'palatal' entered English via Medieval Latin (e.g. Latin 'palatālis') and later scientific/linguistic usage; 'antero-' is a modern combining form based on Latin 'ante'. The compound 'antero-palatal' arose in linguistic description (20th century) by combining these elements to specify an anterior-palatal place of articulation.

Initially the elements literally referred to 'in front of the palate' (i.e. 'before the palate'); over time the compound came to denote the specific phonetic/articulatory category 'articulated at the front part of the hard palate'.