'anti-civic' originates from Greek and Latin: specifically the prefix 'anti-' (Greek 'anti') and the root 'civic' (from Latin 'civicus', from 'civis'), where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'civicus' meant 'of a citizen'.

'civic' changed from Latin word 'civicus' to Old French 'civique' and entered Middle English as 'civic'; the prefix 'anti-' was borrowed from Greek into Latin and later used in English as a productive prefix meaning 'against', and the compound 'anti-civic' formed by combining these elements.

Initially the components carried the sense 'against the citizen' or 'against citizens'; over time the compound came to mean 'opposed to civic duty or civic engagement' in modern usage.