'anticonvention' originates from a combination of Greek and Latin elements: the Greek prefix 'anti-' (ἄντι) meaning 'against' and the Latin 'conventio' (from 'convenire') meaning 'a coming together' or 'agreement'.

'conventio' in Latin developed into Old French 'convention' and then into Middle/Modern English 'convention'; the prefix 'anti-' (via Greek and Latin transmission) was attached to 'convention' in modern English usage to form the compound 'anticonvention' (19th–20th c. coinages and later usages).

Initially the elements conveyed 'against' + 'coming together/meeting' (often a literal opposition to formal meetings or agreements); over time the compound has been used more broadly to mean 'opposition to established customs or stylistic norms'—a deliberate rejection of convention.