'anti-bacteriolytic' is a Modern English formation combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') with 'bacteriolytic' (meaning 'causing or relating to bacterial lysis').

'bacteriolytic' derives from 'bacteriolysis' (New Latin), itself built from 'bacterium' (from Greek 'bakterion' meaning 'little staff' used for the rod shape of some bacteria) + Greek 'lysis' (from 'lusis' meaning 'a loosening or dissolution'). The suffix '-lytic' comes from Greek 'lytikos' meaning 'able to dissolve or loosen'.

The components originally referred to physical 'loosening' or dissolution. Over time 'bacteriolytic' took on the specific biological meaning 'causing bacterial lysis', and 'anti-bacteriolytic' consequently means 'inhibiting or opposing that lysis'.