'antichronal' originates from Greek, specifically the prefix 'anti-' and the root 'chronos', where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'chronos' meant 'time'.

'antichronal' was formed in modern English by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'anti-' with 'chronal' (from 'chronos'); it is a relatively recent compound rather than a word passed down through Old or Middle English.

Initially formed with the sense 'against time' or 'opposed to time', it has come to be used specifically for ordering or occurrence 'in reverse chronological order'.