'antiproductiveness' originates from Modern English, specifically the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with 'productive' (from Latin 'producere' where 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'ducere' meant 'to lead') plus the noun-forming suffix '-ness'.

'productive' changed from Latin 'producere' through Medieval/Old French and Middle English forms such as 'produce' and 'productive', and the modern compound 'antiproductiveness' was formed in English by adding the prefix 'anti-' and suffix '-ness' to that adjective.

Initially elements meant 'against' (anti-) and 'to lead forth' (producere), but over time the combined modern word came to mean 'the state or quality of being counterproductive' rather than a literal 'leading away from production.'