'anti-poetic' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with 'poetic', which comes from Greek 'poiētikos' via Latin and Old French; 'poiētēs' originally meant 'maker' or 'poet'.

'anti-poetic' is a modern English compound created from the productive prefix 'anti-' plus the adjective 'poetic'; 'poetic' developed from Middle English 'poetik' (from Old French 'poetique'), which in turn came from Latin and ultimately Greek, while 'anti-' entered English as a prefix from Greek through Latin or French usage.

Individually, 'poetic' historically meant 'of or relating to poets or poetry'; when combined with 'anti-' the compound took on the sense 'against or lacking poetic qualities,' reflecting a negative or oppositional relation to poetry.