'contra-natural' originates from Latin elements: the prefix 'contra-' (from Latin 'contra') meaning 'against' and the root of 'natural' from Latin 'natura', where 'natura' meant 'birth, origin, character'.

'contra-' was used in Late Latin and Medieval Latin as a productive prefix meaning 'against' and combined with Middle English 'natural' (from Old French and Latin) to form compounds such as 'contranatural' or 'contra-natural' in English usage; the hyphenated modern form 'contra-natural' reflects a 17th–19th century style of compounding and later continued usage in philosophical and theological texts.

Initially used to denote things 'against nature' in moral, theological, or legal contexts; over time it retained the basic sense 'contrary to nature' but has also been used more broadly in literary and critical contexts to mean 'unnatural' or 'artificial'.