'antiprojectivity' originates from Greek and Latin elements: the prefix 'anti-' (Greek 'αντί' / 'anti') meaning 'against' and the word 'projectivity' formed from Latin 'projectus' (past participle of 'proicere') plus the abstractive suffix '-ity'.

'projectivity' traces back to Latin 'proicere' ('pro-' meaning 'forward' + 'iacere/jacere' meaning 'to throw'), yielding Late Latin 'projectus', then via French/Medieval Latin into Middle English 'project' and eventually the abstract noun 'projectivity'; 'antiprojectivity' is a modern formation by adding the combining form 'anti-' to that noun.

Initially the roots related to the physical action 'to throw forward'; over time 'project' developed figurative senses (to extend, to attribute forward), and 'projectivity' came to denote the semantic/pragmatic property of projecting; 'antiprojectivity' thus developed to denote opposition to or absence of that projecting behavior.