'antiphilosophy' originates from Greek-derived elements used in English: the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') combined with 'philosophy' (from Greek 'philosophia'). In this formation, 'philo-' meant 'love' and 'sophia' meant 'wisdom'.

'philosophy' entered English via Latin 'philosophia' from Greek 'philosophia'; the productive prefix 'anti-' from Greek was adopted into English as 'anti-'. The compound 'antiphilosophy' is a modern English formation combining these elements to denote opposition to philosophy.

Initially the elements together literally meant 'against philosophy'; over time the compound has been used in specialized or critical contexts to name movements or stances that reject conventional philosophical methods or aims, a usage that largely preserves the original oppositional sense.