'antimensia' originates from Late Greek 'antimēnsion' (ἀντιμήνσιον) via Late Latin 'antimensionem', where the prefix 'anti-' meant 'in place of' and Latin 'mēnsa'/'mensa' meant 'table'.

'antimension' passed into ecclesiastical Latin as 'antimensionem' from Late Greek 'antimēnsion' and later entered English as 'antimension'; the plural form 'antimensia' follows the Greek/Latin plural formation used in ecclesiastical contexts.

Initially it meant 'in place of the table' (a substitute table/altar). Over time the term came to refer specifically to the consecrated cloth used as a substitute altar in Eastern Christian liturgical practice.