'anthocephalous' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'anthos' and 'kephalē', where 'anthos' meant 'flower' and 'kephalē' meant 'head'.

'anthocephalous' developed via New Latin botanical usage (e.g. the genus name 'Anthocephalus') and was adopted into modern English as the adjective 'anthocephalous'.

Initially it meant 'flower-headed' (literally 'having a flower head'); this core meaning has largely remained unchanged in modern botanical usage.