'anthropophagistic' originates from Greek, specifically the words 'anthrōpos' and 'phagein', where 'anthrōpos' meant 'human' and 'phagein' meant 'to eat', with the adjectival suffix '-istic' (via Latin/English) meaning 'pertaining to'.

'anthrōpophagos' (Greek) gave rise to Medieval Latin forms such as 'anthropophagus' and 'anthropophagia'; these entered English as 'anthropophagy' (noun) and later yielded adjective forms like 'anthropophagistic'.

Initially, related words referred specifically to a 'person who eats human flesh' or the act of eating humans; over time the adjectival form came to describe anything pertaining to or characteristic of cannibalism.