'anti-friction' is a compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' and the noun 'friction'. 'Anti-' originates from Greek, specifically the element 'anti-' (ἀντί) meaning 'against' or 'opposed to'. 'Friction' originates from Latin 'frictio', from the verb 'fricare' meaning 'to rub'.

'friction' entered English via Latin 'frictio' (and Old French influence) into Middle English as 'friccioun' and later standardized as 'friction'. The prefix 'anti-' passed into English from Greek through Latin and Old French usage as a productive combining form, and in modern English it combines with nouns to form compounds like 'anti-friction'.

Originally the components meant 'against' (anti-) and 'rubbing' (friction); the compound came to mean 'opposed to or reducing rubbing', and in modern technical and general usage it denotes materials or designs that minimize friction between surfaces.