'antistaphylococcic' originates from a modern English formation combining the prefix 'anti-' (against), the genus name 'Staphylococcus' (a New Latin term for a cluster-shaped bacterium), and the adjective-forming suffix '-ic'.

'Staphylococcus' comes from New Latin 'Staphylococcus', built from Greek 'staphyle' meaning 'a bunch of grapes' and 'kokkos' meaning 'berry'; the prefix 'anti-' is from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against', and the suffix '-ic' is from Greek/Latin use to form adjectives. These elements were combined in modern scientific English to form 'antistaphylococcic'.

Initially the components referred literally to 'against' + 'grape-cluster-shaped (bacteria)'; over time the assembled term came to mean specifically 'acting against Staphylococcus bacteria' in medical and microbiological contexts.