'anti-vitamin' originates from the Greek prefix 'anti-' meaning 'against' + the word 'vitamin', which was coined in 1912 from Polish 'witamina' (from 'vital amine').

'anti-' comes from Greek 'ἀντί' ('anti-') and 'vitamin' was coined in the early 20th century by Casimir Funk as 'vitamine' (later 'vitamin'); the compound 'anti-vitamin' was formed in the 20th century by prefixing 'anti-' to 'vitamin'.

Initially constructed simply as 'against vitamins' (i.e., opposing the action of vitamins); it has retained that basic meaning, referring specifically to substances that inhibit vitamin activity.