'anticynical' is formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with the adjective 'cynical' (from Greek 'kynikos', via Latin and French).

'cynical' derives from Greek 'kynikos' ('of the dog', associated with the Cynic philosophers), passed into Latin and Old French and then into Middle English as 'cynic', and 'anti-' (Greek) was attached in modern English formation to create 'anticynical'.

Originally the elements meant 'against' and 'of the Cynics' (or 'dog-like'); combined in modern English the compound has come to mean 'against cynicism' or 'not cynical' rather than any literal reference to the ancient Cynics.