'anti-reflexive' originates from Modern English, specifically by combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí') meaning 'against' and the adjective 'reflexive' (from Latin 'reflexus' / 'reflectere') where 're-' meant 'again' and 'flectere' meant 'to bend'.

'reflexive' comes from Latin 'reflexus'/'reflectere', passed into French (réflexif) and then into English as 'reflexive'; the form 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí') was later attached in Modern English to create the compound 'anti-reflexive'.

Initially the components conveyed 'against' and 'bent back' (i.e. 'not bent back to itself'), but over time the compound has come to mean specifically 'not relating to itself' or 'never self-related' in technical contexts.