'anti-saloon' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') combined with 'saloon' (from French 'salon', meaning 'large room' or 'reception room', later used in English for public drinking rooms).

'saloon' came into English via French 'salon' (from Italian 'salone', ultimately from Latin roots) and developed the sense of a public drinking room in the 18th–19th centuries; the compound 'anti-saloon' emerged in the late 19th to early 20th century in contexts of the temperance and prohibition movements in English-speaking countries.

Initially it literally meant 'against the saloon (establishment)'; over time it became closely associated with the political and social temperance/prohibition movements and related policies.