'anticoagulation' originates from the combining of the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek, meaning 'against') with the verb 'coagulate' (from Latin 'coagulare' meaning 'to form a clot'), plus the noun-forming suffix '-ion' from Latin/English.

'coagulate' comes from Latin 'coagulare' (related to 'coagulum', 'a clot'); English formed 'coagulate' (verb) and then 'anticoagulate' (to prevent clotting), from which the noun 'anticoagulation' developed in modern medical English.

Initially components referred separately to 'against' and 'clotting'; over time the combined term came to specifically denote the medical process or therapy of preventing blood clots.