'non-Amoyese' is formed in modern English from the prefix 'non-' plus 'Amoyese', where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'Amoyese' meant 'of or relating to Amoy (the Amoy dialect or people)'.

'Amoyese' derives from 'Amoy' (an English name for Xiamen), itself taken into English from southern Min pronunciations of the place name; the compound 'non-Amoyese' developed by combining the productive English negating prefix 'non-' with the ethnic/linguistic adjective 'Amoyese'.

Initially a straightforward negation meaning 'not Amoyese'; it has remained a literal negative descriptor for things or people not associated with Amoy or the Amoy dialect.