'antimetathic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'antimetáthesis' (ἀντιμετάθεσις), where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'metathesis' meant 'a putting after' or 'transposition'.

'antimetathic' passed into scholarly/vernacular use via Latin/Medieval formations (e.g. late Latin/Neo-Latin formations like 'antimetathicus') and eventually entered modern English as 'antimetathic'.

Initially it meant 'against or contrary to transposition', and that core sense has been retained; the word remains specialized and rare in modern usage.