'antiferromagnetic' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the Greek prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against' or 'opposed to') with 'ferromagnetic' — where 'ferro-' traces to Latin 'ferrum' meaning 'iron' and 'magnetic' traces to Greek 'magnētikos' meaning 'of a magnet'.

'antiferromagnetic' developed as a technical adjective from the noun 'antiferromagnetism', a term that arose in 20th-century condensed-matter physics (notably used in work by Louis Néel and contemporaries) and entered English scientific usage to describe materials with antiparallel spin ordering.

Initially coined to denote opposition to ferromagnetic alignment ('anti-' + 'ferromagnetic'), it evolved into a precise technical term describing a specific microscopic magnetic ordering in materials (antiparallel spin arrangement producing near-zero net magnetization).