'anticyclone' originates from Modern Greek/Neo-Latin elements and English coinage, specifically the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'ἀντί') meaning 'opposite' and 'cyclone' (from Greek 'κύκλων' or 'κύκλος') meaning 'circle' or 'moving in a circle'.

'cyclone' was borrowed into English in the 19th century from Greek 'kyklōn/kyklos' ('circle'); 'anticyclone' was formed in English in the mid-19th century by adding the prefix 'anti-' to 'cyclone' to denote the system opposite to a cyclone, and it became established in meteorological usage.

Initially coined to mean 'the system opposite to a cyclone' (i.e., a high-pressure rotating system), the term's usage has remained stable and now commonly denotes a large high-pressure area associated with fair or settled weather.