'antihierarchical' originates from Modern English, formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí' via Latin, meaning 'against') combined with 'hierarchical' (from 'hierarchy').

'hierarchy' comes from Greek 'hierarkhia' (rule of priests), passed into Late Latin and then Middle English as 'hierarchie', yielding the adjective 'hierarchical'; the compound 'antihierarchical' was formed in Modern English by adding 'anti-' to 'hierarchical'.

Initially, 'hierarchy' had connotations of sacred or priestly rule; over time it broadened to mean any system of ranked authority. 'Anti-' retained the meaning 'against', so 'antihierarchical' evolved to mean 'against ranked authority or hierarchical systems'.