'anti-episcopalist' originates from Modern English, formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against'), the adjective 'episcopal' (from Greek 'episkopos' via Late Latin 'episcopus', meaning 'overseer'), and the agentive suffix '-ist'.

'episkopos' (Greek) became Late Latin 'episcopus', which passed into Old/Middle English forms and yielded the adjective 'episcopal' in Modern English; the prefix 'anti-' comes from Greek 'anti-'. The compound 'anti-episcopal' developed in English and '-ist' was added to form the agent noun 'anti-episcopalist'.

Initially it literally meant 'against bishops' or 'against episcopal rule'; over time it has been used specifically to denote 'a person opposed to episcopacy' with that core sense largely unchanged.