'antiprofiteering' originates from modern English, specifically formed from the prefix 'anti-' and the noun 'profiteering', where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'profiteering' referred to 'making excessive profit'.

'profiteering' developed from the verb 'profiteer' (mid 19th century), which itself was formed from 'profit' plus the agentive suffix '-eer'. 'Profit' comes via Old French 'profit' from Latin roots such as 'proficere'/'profictus' (related to advantage or benefit). The prefix 'anti-' comes from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against' and was adopted into English to form compounds such as 'anti-' + noun.

Initially, the components meant 'against' (anti-) and 'making profit' (profiteering); combined, they have come to mean 'measures or actions opposed to profiteering', a specialization that retains the basic senses of its parts.