'anti-populist' originates from Modern English, formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') and 'populist' (from French 'populiste' and Latin 'populus' meaning 'people').

'anti-populist' developed by combining the productive English prefix 'anti-' with 'populist,' a term that arose in the late 19th century (from Latin 'populus' via French 'populiste') and entered political usage; the compound became common in 20th-century political discourse.

Initially, elements meant 'against' (anti-) and 'people' or 'the people' (populus), and the compound came to mean specifically 'against populism' or 'opposed to populist movements' in modern political contexts.