'anti-resonator' originates from modern English, combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí') and the noun 'resonator' (from Latin 'resonator'), where 'antí' meant 'against' and 'resonare' meant 'to sound again'.

'resonator' derives from Latin 'resonator' (from 'resonare' = 're-' + 'sonare' 'to sound'); the English noun 'resonator' developed via Late Latin and Middle English forms. The prefix 'anti-' came from Greek 'antí' into English via Latin/Old French usage and productive modern English prefixation produced the compound 'anti-resonator'.

Initially the components meant 'against' and 'that which resounds' (i.e., opposing sounding or resonance); over time the compound came to refer specifically to engineered devices or circuits that oppose or cancel resonance at targeted frequencies.