'anthracaemia' originates from Greek and New Latin components: Greek 'anthrax' (ἄνθραξ) meaning 'coal' (used for the disease 'anthrax') and Greek 'haima' (αἷμα) meaning 'blood', combined in New Latin/medical formation as '-aemia' meaning 'blood condition'.

'anthracaemia' was formed in modern medical Latin/New Latin from the combining form 'anthraco-' (from Greek 'anthrax') + the suffix '-aemia' (from Greek 'haima' via Latin), and it has been used in English medical texts to denote anthrax infection of the blood; an alternate English variant is 'anthraxemia'.

Initially coined to denote a blood condition associated with 'anthrax' (literally 'coal' by original Greek), the term's meaning has remained specialized and now refers specifically to bloodstream infection by Bacillus anthracis (septicemic anthrax).