'antivirotic' is a modern formation combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') with 'virotic', formed from Latin 'virus' and the Greek-derived adjectival suffix '-tic'.

'antivirotic' was formed in the 20th century by combining 'anti-' + 'virotic' (itself from 'virus' + '-tic') as medical and pharmaceutical terminology developed; it parallels terms like 'antibiotic' and 'antiviral'.

Initially formed simply to mean 'against viruses' in a general sense; it has come to be used specifically to refer to substances or properties that inhibit or act against viruses (i.e., antiviral drugs or agents).