'anticipator' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'anticipare', where 'ante-' meant 'before' and the root (related to 'capere'/'cip-') meant 'to take' or 'to seize'.

'anticipator' changed from Late Latin 'anticipator' and Medieval/Modern French 'anticiper'/'anticipateur' into English via Middle English (through the verb 'anticipate'), and the agent noun form became established in modern English as 'anticipator'.

Initially, it meant 'to take or do before (something happens)', but over time it evolved into the current sense of 'to foresee or act in advance; someone who predicts or prepares ahead of time'.