'anti-hierarchical' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') with the adjective 'hierarchical'.

'hierarchical' traces back to Late Latin 'hierarchia' and Greek 'hierarkhia' (from 'hieros' 'sacred' + 'arkhos' 'ruler'); the element 'hierarkhia' passed into Late Latin as 'hierarchia' and into English via Medieval/Modern borrowings, and was later combined with the productive English prefix 'anti-' to form 'anti-hierarchical'.

Initially terms related to 'hierarchy' referred to 'sacred rule' or a system of ranked spiritual authority; over time the sense generalized to mean any graded or ranked system of authority, and 'anti-hierarchical' came to mean 'against such ranked or tiered authority'.