'anti-nephritic' originates from a modern English formation using elements from Ancient Greek: 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with 'nephritic' (derived from Greek 'nephros' meaning 'kidney' plus the adjectival/medical suffix '-itic' from Greek '-itis' meaning 'inflammation').

'nephritic' changed from New Latin 'nephriticus' (itself from Greek 'nephros') and entered medical English to mean 'relating to nephritis'; later, in modern medical usage, the prefix 'anti-' was attached to form 'anti-nephritic' to denote agents acting against nephritis.

Initially, 'nephritic' meant 'relating to kidney inflammation'; over time the combined form 'anti-nephritic' developed to mean 'opposing or treating kidney inflammation' (i.e., an agent or quality that counteracts nephritis).