'antithalian' originates from Greek elements: the prefix 'anti-' (ἀντί) meaning 'against' and 'Thalia' (Θάλεια), the name of the muse of comedy and festivity, where 'Thalia' carried senses of 'abundance' and 'festivity'.

'antithalian' is a modern English formation combining Greek-derived 'anti-' with the proper name 'Thalia' (used adjectivally) to mean 'against Thalia/festivity'; it appears as a rare learned coinage in English usage from the 19th–20th centuries.

Initially formed to mean 'against festivity or comedy' in a literal sense, it has retained that specialized meaning of being opposed to mirth or revelry in modern usage.