'antipneumococcic' is formed from the combining prefix 'anti-' (meaning 'against') plus 'pneumococcic', which relates to 'pneumococcus' (the bacterium). 'anti-' originates from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against' and 'pneumococcus' is built from Greek 'pneumon' meaning 'lung' and 'kokkos' meaning 'berry'.

'pneumococcus' was coined in modern medical Latin/English in the late 19th century to name the bacterium associated with pneumonia, combining Greek roots 'pneumon' and 'kokkos'. Over the 20th century, English formed adjectival compounds with the prefix 'anti-' to indicate activity against specific pathogens, producing terms like 'antipneumococcic'.

Originally the elements meant 'against' (anti-) and 'lung/berry' (pneumon/kokkos) as name components; combined in modern medical usage they mean 'acting against pneumococcal bacteria', a usage that has remained stable in technical contexts.