'anti-liberals' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'anti-' + 'liberal', where 'anti-' comes from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against', and 'liberal' derives from Latin 'liberalis' meaning 'of freedom' or 'generous'.

'liberal' came into English via Latin 'liberalis' and Old French 'liberal'; the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek) was attached in modern English to form 'anti-liberal', and the regular pluralization produced 'anti-liberals'.

Originally 'liberal' could mean 'generous' or 'of freedom'; over time it became associated with political doctrines supporting civil liberties and reform; 'anti-liberal' developed to denote opposition to those doctrines, and 'anti-liberals' now refers to people or groups holding that opposition.