'antirevolution' originates from Greek and Latin, specifically the Greek prefix 'anti-' (Greek 'antí') and the Latin word 'revolutio', where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'revolutio' meant 'a turning back'.

'antirevolution' was formed in English by combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek) with the noun 'revolution' (from Old French/Latin 'revolutio', from Latin 'revolvere'), and eventually became the modern English compound 'antirevolution'.

Initially the components conveyed the idea 'against a turning back' or 'against a turning', but over time the compound came to mean specifically 'opposition to revolution' or 'counterrevolution'.