'antiphlogist' originates from Modern English, formed from the prefix 'anti-' (meaning 'against') + Greek 'phlogistos' (φλογιστός) meaning 'inflammable' or 'burning'.

'antiphlogist' developed as a noun from the adjective 'antiphlogistic' (used in medical contexts from the 18th–19th centuries to mean 'reducing inflammation'), which in turn derives from Greek 'phlogistos' and the combining form seen in medical Latin and Modern English.

Initially tied to the literal idea of countering 'burning' or inflammation, it came to be used specifically for agents that reduce inflammation; in rare historical contexts it was also used for opponents of the phlogiston theory.