'neo-anthropogenic' is built from the prefix 'neo-' (from Greek 'neos', meaning 'new') combined with 'anthropogenic' (from Greek 'anthropos' meaning 'human' + '-genic' from 'genein' meaning 'to produce'), so the compound literally means 'newly human-produced'. (Japanese) 「neo-」はギリシャ語の「neos」('新しい')から、'anthropogenic'は「anthropos」('人間')と「-genic」('生じさせる')から成る複合語で、直訳すると「新たに人間によって生じた」を意味する。

'anthropogenic' entered scientific English in the 19th-20th centuries to mean 'human-caused'; the prefix 'neo-' has been productively attached in modern scientific and technical usage (20th–21st century) to indicate 'new' or 'recent', producing the compound 'neo-anthropogenic' in contemporary environmental literature.

Initially the elements meant 'new' and 'human-produced' separately; over time the compound became used specifically to highlight recent or novel human impacts (rather than human impact in general) and retains that focused sense in current usage.