'anticlinorium' originates from New Latin, specifically formed from the Greek elements 'antí' and 'klínein' (from Ancient Greek 'κλίνειν') where 'antí' meant 'against' or 'opposite' and 'klínein' meant 'to lean', combined with the Latin suffix '-orium' used to form nouns.

'anticlinorium' developed in 19th-century geological literature by adding the Latin-derived suffix '-orium' to the earlier term 'anticline' (from Greek 'antí' + 'klínein'), and eventually became the established English geological term 'anticlinorium'.

Initially it denoted a place or region characterized by an anticline or grouping of anticlines ('a region of arching folds'); over time it has come to mean specifically a large or complex anticline structure or arch-like fold system.