'anti-eugenic' originates from Greek and New Latin elements: the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti') meaning 'against' and 'eugenic', from New Latin/Greek 'eugenēs'. 'eugenēs' meant 'well-born' (from eu- 'good' + genos 'birth' or 'race').

'eugenics' was coined in the late 19th century (coined by Francis Galton from Greek elements) as a term for improving hereditary qualities; 'eugenic' became the adjective, and 'anti-' was later prefixed to form 'anti-eugenic' describing opposition to that idea.

Initially, the root meant 'well-born' or 'good birth'; over time 'eugenics' came to denote a social and scientific movement about selective breeding and hereditary 'improvement', and 'anti-eugenic' developed to indicate opposition to those ideas and practices.