'antiballooner' originates from combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') and the noun 'balloon' (from French 'ballon'). The agentive suffix '-er' is added to indicate a person.

'balloon' came into English via French 'ballon' (and Italian 'ballone') meaning 'large ball'; the combining form 'anti-' derives from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against'. These elements were combined in modern English to form the compound 'antiballooner'.

Initially the components literally meant 'against' + 'balloon'; the compounded term came to denote specifically 'a person opposed to balloons or their release', usually for environmental or safety reasons.