'anti-edematous' is a modern medical compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' and the adjective 'edematous'. 'anti-' originates from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against', and 'edematous' comes via New Latin from 'edema' (also spelled 'oedema').

'edema' derives from Greek




'oidema' (







) meaning 'swelling'; it entered Medieval/Modern scientific Latin as 'oedema'/'edema' and yielded the adjective 'edematous', which combined with the Greek prefix 'anti-' in modern English medical usage to form 'anti-edematous'.

The elements originally meant 'against' (anti-) and 'swelling' (oidema); together they have come to mean 'acting against or reducing edema' in contemporary medical contexts.