'anthophyllite-positive' originates from Modern English, combining the mineral name 'anthophyllite' (itself formed from Greek elements used in mineralogy) and the adjective 'positive' (from Latin 'positivus'), where 'anthophyllite' denotes the specific asbestos mineral and 'positive' meant 'affirmative/indicating presence'.

'anthophyllite' derives from Greek roots such as 'anthos' (flower) + 'phyllon' (leaf) with the mineral suffix '-ite' and entered scientific English in the 19th century; 'positive' comes from Latin 'positivus' (via Late Latin/Old French) and entered English earlier. The compound form 'anthophyllite-positive' developed in 20th-century clinical, environmental, and analytical contexts to describe test results indicating the mineral's presence.

Initially, 'anthophyllite' named the mineral only, and 'positive' originally meant 'placed' or 'asserted'; over time 'positive' evolved to mean 'affirmative' or 'indicating presence', and together the compound came to mean 'showing the presence of anthophyllite'.