'anticity' originates from the adjective 'antic', which in English comes from Middle French/Italian 'antic(−)' (related to French 'antique'), ultimately from Latin 'antiquus' where 'antiquus' meant 'old' or 'ancient'.

'anticity' changed from the adjective 'antic' (used in Early Modern English for 'odd, grotesque, or ludicrous') and the noun form 'anticity' was later formed in English to denote the quality or state; the modern English noun 'anticity' derives from this development.

Initially associated with words meaning 'old' or 'ancient' (via Latin 'antiquus'), the sense shifted in late Medieval/Early Modern usage toward 'odd, bizarre, or grotesque' (as in 'antic'), and 'anticity' came to mean the quality of being odd or ludicrous.