'anticonceptionist' originates from English formation combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against'), the noun 'conception' (from Latin 'conceptio'/'conceptionem', from 'concipere' meaning 'to take in, to conceive'), and the agent suffix '-ist' (from French/Latin/Greek usage meaning 'one who practices or advocates').

'conception' entered English via Old French and Latin ('conceptio' from 'concipere'); the prefix 'anti-' comes from Greek 'anti-'; the modern compound 'anticonceptionist' was formed in English by joining these elements with the suffix '-ist' to denote a person associated with the practice or advocacy of anticonception.

Initially the components meant 'against' + 'conceiving' and, when combined, the term has come to mean 'a person who supports or practices prevention of conception (contraception)'; the basic sense has remained focused on preventing conception rather than implying opposition to conception as an abstract idea.