'anti-epithelial' is formed in modern English by combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí', meaning 'against') with 'epithelial' (from New Latin 'epithelium').

'epithelium' originates from Greek 'epitheleion' (from 'epi-' meaning 'upon' and 'thḗlē' meaning 'nipple'), passed into Late Latin/New Latin as 'epithelium', and then into English as 'epithelial'; 'anti-' has long been used as a combining form in scientific compounds to indicate opposition, producing 'anti-epithelial' in modern medical usage.

Originally components meant 'against' and 'tissue 'over a nipple' (i.e., epithelium), and the compound has retained the sense 'against or damaging epithelial tissue' in contemporary scientific use.