'non-Western-themed' is built from the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non'), the adjective 'Western' (from Old English 'west'), and the past-participial adjective 'themed' (from 'theme', from Greek 'thema' via Latin), where 'non-' meant 'not', 'west' meant 'the direction where the sun sets', and 'thema' meant 'something laid down or set'.

'Western' derives from Old English 'west'; 'theme' comes from Greek 'thema' (through Latin and French influences) meaning a subject or motif; the modern compound form 'non-Western-themed' arose in contemporary English by prefixing 'non-' to the phrase 'Western-themed' to indicate the opposite.

Originally the elements meant 'not' + 'of the west' + 'related to a theme'; over time the compound has been used to describe aesthetics, programming, or content that intentionally centers non-Western cultural themes rather than Western ones.