'anoesis' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'anoēsis', where the prefix 'a-' meant 'without' and 'noēsis' meant 'thinking' or 'intellect'.

'anoēsis' was adopted into modern scientific and philosophical usage (via New Latin/modern coinage) in late 19th to 20th century discourse on consciousness and psychology, becoming the English term 'anoesis'.

Initially coined to denote an absence of intellectual activity in conscious experience, its meaning has remained substantially the same, used mainly in phenomenology and cognitive neuroscience to contrast with reflective forms of consciousness.