'anti-sialic' originates from the combining prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') and 'sialic' (from 'sialic acid'), where 'sialic' ultimately derives from Greek 'sialon' meaning 'saliva'.

'sialic' changed from the scientific/medical coining based on Greek 'sialon' (via Neo-Latin/19th-20th century chemical terminology referring to saliva-derived acids) and eventually became the modern English adjective 'sialic', which with the prefix 'anti-' formed 'anti-sialic'.

Initially it related to 'of or pertaining to saliva' (from 'sialon'), but over time it came to refer specifically to 'relating to sialic acids (a family of acidic sugars)'; 'anti-sialic' therefore now means 'against or targeting sialic acids'.