'anti-hypnotic' originates from Modern English, specifically by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') with 'hypnotic' (from Greek 'hypnos' meaning 'sleep' via Latin/French), where 'anti-' meant 'against'.

'hypnotic' comes from Greek 'hypnotikos' (related to 'hypnos') which passed into Latin and later French before becoming English 'hypnotic'; the compound 'anti-hypnotic' was formed in Modern English by prefixing 'anti-' to 'hypnotic'.

Initially components referred to 'against sleep' or 'against hypnosis'; over time the compound came to mean 'preventing or resisting hypnosis or its effects' in contemporary usage.