'anti-lexicography' originates from a modern English compound built from Greek elements: the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'ἀντί') meaning 'against' and 'lexicography' (via Latinized form 'lexicographia' from Greek 'λεξικόν'/'λεξις' + 'γράφειν'), where 'lexis' meant 'word' and 'graphein' meant 'to write'.

'anti-lexicography' formed in modern English by combining the established noun 'lexicography' (itself borrowed into English via Latin and French from Greek roots) with the productive prefix 'anti-' to indicate opposition; the compound emerged in late 20th to early 21st-century critical and literary discourse rather than from a single historical source.

Initially a literal compound meaning 'against lexicography', its usage has broadened to cover both theoretical critiques of dictionary practice and creative/subversive practices that intentionally challenge dictionary conventions.