'anterofrontal' originates from the combining form 'antero-' (from Latin 'ante' meaning 'before', via Greek 'anteros') and 'frontal' from Latin 'frons' meaning 'forehead'.

'anterofrontal' developed as a medical/anatomical compound 'antero-frontal' in New Latin/medical Latin and was adopted into English as the single-word adjective 'anterofrontal'.

Initially it literally meant 'before the forehead' (the front of the frontal area), and over time it has been used specifically to mean 'pertaining to the front part of the frontal region (for example, of the brain)'.