'antiepicenter' originates from the combining of the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'opposite' or 'against') and the noun 'epicenter' (from Greek 'epikentron').

'epicenter' comes from Greek 'epikentron' ('epi-' meaning 'upon' + 'kentron' meaning 'center/point'), entered scientific usage in the 19th century; 'antiepicenter' is a modern English formation created by adding the prefix 'anti-' to 'epicenter'.

Initially the elements meant 'opposite' (anti-) and 'upon the center' (epicenter); together they evolved into the compound meaning 'the point opposite the epicenter' in modern usage.