'antisnob' is formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' via Latin and French, meaning 'against') combined with the English word 'snob'.

'snob' originated in early 19th-century English (originally slang for a town-dweller or shoemaker); folk etymologies (e.g. abbreviation of Latin 'sine nobilitate') are widely cited but doubtful. The compound 'anti-' + 'snob' is a modern English formation used to indicate opposition to snobbery.

The components originally meant 'against' and 'snob' respectively; the compound has been used to denote someone or something opposing snobbery or elitist attitudes, a straightforward compositional meaning that has remained stable.