'antiwhitism' is a modern English formation combining the prefix 'anti-' (against), the adjective 'white', and the suffix '-ism' (system, doctrine), created to denote opposition or hostility toward white people.

'antiwhitism' was formed in English by combining 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti') + 'white' (Old English 'hwīt') + '-ism' (from Greek/Latin '-ismos' via French), producing a compound meaning 'opposition to white(ness)'; the explicit compound appears in late 20th/early 21st century discourse.

The components originally meant 'against' ('anti-') and 'white' (referring to color/people), and together the coinage came to mean specifically 'prejudice or hostility directed at white people' in contemporary sociopolitical usage.