'anti-mechanization' is a compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') + 'mechanization' (from 'mechanize' + nominalizing suffix '-ation'), where 'mechanize' ultimately traces to Greek 'mekhanē' meaning 'device' or 'machine'.

'mechanization' developed in English from the verb 'mechanize' (18th–19th century), which came via Modern French/Latin formations from Greek 'mekhanē'; the prefix 'anti-' has been used in English since the 16th century to form compounds meaning 'against', and the compound 'anti-mechanization' emerged in modern discourse to denote opposition to the process of mechanizing work.

Initially, roots referenced 'machine' or 'device'; over time 'mechanization' came to mean the process of introducing machines into work, and 'anti-mechanization' came to mean opposition to that process.