'countercyclicality' originates from English, specifically the combination of the prefix 'counter-' (from Old French 'contre' and Latin 'contra'), the root 'cyclic' (from Greek 'kyklos' meaning 'wheel' or 'circle'), and the noun-forming suffix '-ality' (from Latin '-alis'/'-alitas') where 'counter-' meant 'against', 'cyclic' related to 'cycle', and '-ality' indicated 'state or quality'.

'countercyclicality' formed in modern English by combining 'counter-' + 'cyclical' + '-ity'; 'counter-' came into English via Old French 'contre' (from Latin 'contra'), 'cyclical' derives from Greek 'kyklos' via Latin/Old French, and the abstract noun ending developed into the modern '-ality'/'-ity' construction used in economic terminology during the 20th century.

Initially, the elements meant 'against' (counter-) and 'wheel/cycle' (cyclic); over time the compound came to mean specifically the quality of moving opposite to economic cycles (i.e., offsetting booms and busts), a usage that became common in macroeconomic and policy contexts.