'anticorrosive' originates from a combination of the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') and 'corrosive' (ultimately from Latin 'corrodere').

'corrode' comes from Latin 'corrodere' (from 'com-' + 'rodere' meaning 'to gnaw'), passed into Old/Middle English as 'corrode'/'corroden'; the modern English adjective 'anticorrosive' was formed by adding the prefix 'anti-' to 'corrosive' in modern English.

Initially formed to mean 'against gnawing/biting away' (literally against the action implied by 'rodere'), it evolved into the current technical sense of 'preventing or resisting corrosion' and is used for protective substances and coatings.