'anticonstitutionalist' originates from Modern English, specifically formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek) and the word 'constitution' (from Latin 'constitutio'), where 'anti-' meant 'against' and Latin 'constituere' meant 'to set up, establish'.

'anticonstitutionalist' was formed in English by combining 'anticonstitutional' + the agentive suffix '-ist' (likely from the 19th century). The element 'constitution' itself came into English via Old French 'constitucion' from Latin 'constitutio' (from 'constituere'), and then into Middle and Modern English.

Initially it referred specifically to someone opposed to a particular constitution or constitutional provision; over time it has been used more broadly to mean someone opposed to constitutional government or the principle of constitutionalism.