'anti-White' originates from modern English compounding of the Greek prefix 'anti-' and the English word 'White', where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'White' referred to people identified as white.

'anti-' entered English as a productive prefix from Greek 'anti' (via Latin and French usage) and combined with English nouns like 'White' in modern usage to form compounds such as 'anti-White'; 'White' itself comes from Old English 'hwīt' and earlier Germanic roots.

Initially, 'anti-' simply meant 'against' and 'white' denoted color or the social category 'White'; combined in recent English usage the compound has come to specifically denote opposition to or hostility toward white people as a racial group.