'antispirochetic' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') combined with 'spirochete' (from New Latin 'Spirochaeta'), and the adjectival suffix '-ic'.

'spirochete' comes from New Latin 'Spirochaeta' (19th century), from Greek elements 'speira' meaning 'coil' and 'chaite' meaning 'hair'; the adjective 'antispirochetic' formed in modern scientific/medical English by adding 'anti-' and '-ic' to denote activity against such organisms.

Initially formed to mean 'against spirochetes' in a literal bacteriological sense; the meaning has remained specialized and is still used to describe agents or actions destructive to spirochetes.