'antirent' originates from a combination of the prefix 'anti-' from Greek, specifically the word 'anti', where 'anti-' meant 'against', and the noun 'rent' from Old French 'rente', meaning 'payment'.

'antirent' changed from the hyphenated English form 'anti-rent' commonly found in 19th-century newspapers and documents and has also appeared unhyphenated as 'antirent' in later texts referring to the same concept or movement.

Initially, it meant 'against rent' (i.e., opposed to payments of rent); over time the term became associated particularly with the 19th-century Anti-Rent Movement and with descriptions of opposition to landlord rent systems.