'anti-government' is a compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí' meaning 'against') and 'government' (from Old French 'governement'/'governer', ultimately from Latin 'gubernare' meaning 'to steer, to govern'). English components: 'anti-' = 'against'; 'government' from 'gubernare' = 'to steer/govern'. Japanese: 「anti-government」は接頭辞「anti-」（ギリシャ語 'antí'、『反対』の意）と「government」（古フランス語 'governement'、最終的にはラテン語 'gubernare'『操る・統治する』の意）から成る複合語である。

'government' evolved from Latin 'gubernare' → Old French 'governer/governement' → Middle English 'governen/governement' → modern English 'government'. The prefix 'anti-' was borrowed into English from Greek via Latin and French in the 16th century and has been used productively to form compounds; the specific compound 'anti-government' became common in modern political discourse (notably 19th–20th centuries onward). Japanese: 'government'はラテン語 'gubernare' → 古フランス語 'governer/governement' → 中英語 'governen/governement' → 現代英語 'government'へ変化した。接頭辞 'anti-' は16世紀にギリシャ語から英語に入って以降複合語を作るのに広く用いられ、'anti-government' は近代（19〜20世紀以降）に政治的文脈で一般化した。

Originally the elements simply meant 'against' + 'that which governs'; over time the compound preserved this literal sense but came to be used as a label for political positions, movements, sentiments, or groups opposing current governing authorities—sometimes as a neutral descriptor and sometimes with ideological connotations. Japanese: 元来は要素ごとに『反対』＋『統治するもの』を指したが、進化の過程で現行の支配体制に反対する政治的立場・運動・感情・集団を指す語として定着し、状況によって中立的にも評価的にも用いられるようになった。