'anticarious' originates from a combination of Greek and Latin elements: the Greek prefix 'anti-' meaning 'against' and the Latin noun 'caries' meaning 'rot' or 'decay'.

'anticarious' was formed in modern medical/odontological English by attaching the prefix 'anti-' to the adjective 'carious' (which itself derives from Latin 'caries'); 'caries' became English as 'carious', and the compound 'anticarious' was coined to denote opposition to decay.

Initially, Latin 'caries' meant 'rot' or 'decay' in a general sense; over time it came to denote tooth decay specifically, and 'anticarious' evolved to mean 'acting against or preventing tooth decay.'