'anti-clergy' originates from Modern English as a compound of the prefix 'anti-' and the noun 'clergy'; 'anti-' ultimately comes from Greek 'anti' where the element meant 'against', and 'clergy' ultimately derives from Greek 'kleros' via Late Latin and Old French.

'clergy' passed from Greek 'kleros' (meaning 'lot, inheritance') into Late Latin as 'clericus' (a member of the clergy), into Old French as 'clergie', and then into Middle English as 'clergy'; the prefix 'anti-' was taken into English from Greek via Latin/French use and attached productively to nouns to indicate opposition, producing the compound 'anti-clergy' in Modern English.

Originally the elements meant 'against' (anti-) and 'those appointed by lot/inheritance' (kleros → clericus → clergy); combined, the compound has long meant 'against the clergy' and over time has been used both as an adjective describing opposition to ecclesiastical authority and as a noun describing persons or movements with that opposition (largely overlapping with 'anti-clerical' and 'anti-clericalism').