'anticatalase' originates from Modern English, specifically formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') attached to 'catalase' (the enzyme name, itself formed with the suffix '-ase').

'catalase' was coined in the late 19th century from 'catalysis' (Greek 'katalysis', meaning 'dissolution' or 'loosening') plus the enzyme-forming suffix '-ase'; later the prefix 'anti-' was prefixed to create 'anticatalase' to denote something 'against catalase'.

Initially the components meant 'against' + 'catalase (the enzyme)', and over time the compound has been used specifically to denote either antibodies to catalase or chemical/biological inhibitors of catalase activity.