'anticarcinogenic' originates from Modern English combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') with 'carcinogenic' (from Greek roots), where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'carcinogenic' meant 'producing cancer'.

'carcinogenic' derives from Greek 'karkín(os)' ("crab", used for 'cancer') + Greek-derived adjectival suffix '-genic' (from 'genēs', meaning 'producing'); in Modern English 'anti-' was prefixed to form 'anticarcinogenic' (literally 'against producing cancer').

Initially, 'carcinogenic' meant 'producing or related to cancer'; the compounded form 'anticarcinogenic' came to mean 'preventing or inhibiting cancer formation' in modern usage.