'anti-Anopheles' is a modern scientific compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') and the genus name 'Anopheles' (from Greek 'anophelēs' meaning 'useless' or 'harmful').

'Anopheles' comes from Greek 'anophelēs' (ἀνόφελης), adopted into scientific Latin and later used as the Linnaean genus name 'Anopheles'; the prefix 'anti-' was then attached in modern entomological and public-health usage to indicate opposition to that genus.

The formation originally and consistently meant 'against Anopheles (mosquitoes)'; its sense has remained stable as a descriptive label for measures or agents targeting Anopheles.