'antherid' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'antheridium', where Greek 'ánthēra' (anther-) meant 'anther' (the pollen-bearing or male part) and the diminutive suffix '-idion/-idium' meant 'small' or 'little'.

'antherid' changed from New Latin 'antheridium' (used in botanical and zoological Latin) and was shortened in modern English to the form 'antherid'.

Initially it meant 'small anther' (in the literal sense of a small anther-like structure), but over time it came to mean specifically the male reproductive organ that produces sperm in lower plants, algae, and some fungi.