'countercyclically' is formed from the prefix 'counter-' (meaning 'against') + 'cyclical' (from 'cycle' + adjective suffix '-ical'), where 'counter-' originates from Latin 'contra' meaning 'against' and 'cyclical' traces to Greek 'kyklos' meaning 'circle'.

'counter-' (from Latin 'contra') was combined in English with 'cyclical' (from Medieval Latin/Old French forms of Greek 'kyklos' via Latin) to create 'countercyclical' in modern English; the adverb 'countercyclically' is the adjective plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'.

Initially the elements meant 'against' (counter-) and 'circle/cycle' (kyklos), and over time they combined to describe actions taken 'against the cycle'; this specialised sense—especially in economics—became 'acting against the business/economic cycle' and is retained in the adverbial form.