'anti-egotistic' originates from English, formed by combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against' or 'opposed to') with the adjective 'egotistic'.

'egotistic' changed from French forms such as 'égotiste'/'égotisme' and from the stem 'ego' (Latin 'ego' meaning 'I'), and later the English adjective 'egotistic' developed; 'anti-' was then prefixed in English to form compounds like 'anti-egotistic'.

Originally related to the Latin 'ego' meaning 'I' (simply indicating the self), 'egotistic' evolved to mean 'excessively self-centered' in modern usage; 'anti-egotistic' therefore developed the meaning 'against excessive self-centeredness' or 'not self-centered'.