'antiproductive' originates from modern English, formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí' meaning 'against') combined with 'productive' (from Latin 'productivus', from 'producere' meaning 'to bring forth').

'antiproductive' developed as a compound in modern English by joining Greek-derived 'anti-' with the adjective 'productive' (which passed into English via Latin 'productivus' and Middle English 'productive'), producing the current form 'antiproductive'.

Initially the elements literally meant 'against production'; over time the compound came to mean 'not producing desired results' or 'counterproductive' in general usage.