'anti-industrialist' originates from English, specifically formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí', where 'antí' meant 'against') combined with 'industrialist' (from Latin 'industria' via Old French 'industrie' meaning 'industry/diligence' plus the English suffix '-ist' meaning 'one who').

'industrialist' developed from Latin 'industria' → Old French 'industrie' → Middle English 'industry' → modern English 'industrial', with the agentive suffix '-ist' producing 'industrialist'; later English formed the compound 'anti-' + 'industrialist' (20th century coinage in contexts critical of industrialization).

Initially, 'industrialist' meant 'a person engaged in or promoting industry'; 'anti-industrialist' originally meant 'against industrialists or industrialization' and has retained that core sense while broadening to include opposition to large-scale, mechanized, or capitalist forms of industry.