'anti-abrasive' is a modern English compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí' meaning 'against') + 'abrasive' (from Latin 'abradere' meaning 'to scrape').

'abrasive' comes from Latin 'abradere' (ab- 'away' + radere 'to scrape'), passed into Old French (abrader) and Middle English forms before producing the adjective 'abrasive'; 'anti-' was borrowed from Greek into Latin and then into English as a productive prefix, yielding the compound 'anti-abrasive' in modern English.

Initially the elements literally conveyed 'against scraping'; over time the compound came to be used more broadly for materials or coatings that resist wear, giving the present sense 'resistant to abrasion' or 'preventing abrasion'.