'anterospinal' originates from New Latin/medical formation, combining the prefix 'antero-' (from Latin 'ante', meaning 'before, in front') and 'spinal' (from Latin 'spina', meaning 'thorn, backbone').

'anterospinal' was created in modern medical/Latin English by joining 'antero-' + 'spinal'; 'spina' in Classical Latin passed into Medieval Latin as 'spina' and into Middle English as 'spine', while 'ante' gave rise to English prefixes like 'antero-'; these elements were combined in modern anatomical usage to form 'anterospinal'.

Initially the component elements meant 'in front' (antero-) and 'backbone' (spina); over time they were combined into the technical adjective meaning 'relating to the front part of the spine or spinal cord'.