'anti-establishmentist' originates from multiple elements: the prefix 'anti-' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'anti' where 'anti-' meant 'against'; 'establishment' originates from Anglo-French and Late Latin, specifically Old French 'establir' and Late Latin 'stabilire', where roots like 'stabil-' meant 'firm' or 'to make stable'; the suffix '-ist' originates from Greek via Latin and French, specifically from Greek '-istēs' (through French '-iste'), meaning 'one who' or 'a person associated with'.

'establish' changed from Old French 'establir' (from Late Latin 'stabilire') and developed into the English noun 'establishment' (17th century) meaning 'the existing power structure or institutions'; adding the prefix 'anti-' (Greek) and the agentive suffix '-ist' (via French/Latin) produced the compound 'anti-establishmentist' in modern English to label someone opposed to that established order.

Initially, components like 'establish' and 'establishment' related to 'making firm or setting up' and referred neutrally to founding or institutions; over time, the compound 'anti-establishmentist' came to specifically mean 'opposed to the dominant social, political, or cultural institutions' and is used to describe oppositional people, movements, or attitudes.