'ultraconservative' is formed from the prefix 'ultra-' (from Latin 'ultra', meaning 'beyond' or 'on the other side of') + 'conservative' (from Latin 'conservare', meaning 'to preserve').

'conservative' comes from Latin 'conservare' ('to preserve'), passed into French and then Middle English as 'conservative'; 'ultra-' was added in modern English to intensify the meaning, producing 'ultraconservative' to mean 'beyond (normal) conservative'.

Initially, 'conservative' meant 'to preserve' or 'favoring preservation'; over time it came to denote a political stance favoring tradition and resisting change. 'Ultraconservative' developed to indicate an extreme or intensified form of that stance.