'anthropozoic' originates from Greek combining forms, specifically 'anthrōpos' and 'zōion', where 'anthrōpos' meant 'human' and 'zōion' meant 'animal'. The modern formation is a scientific coinage modeled on geological '-zoic' terms.

'anthropozoic' was formed in scientific/New Latin usage by combining Greek roots via modern English coinage, following the pattern of geological epoch names such as 'Mesozoic' and 'Cenozoic'.

Initially used broadly to denote matters relating to humans and animals, the term has more recently been applied to denote a human-dominated geological epoch (similar in sense to 'Anthropocene').