'non-agentive' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and 'agentive' from Latin 'agentivus', where 'agere' meant 'to do or act'.

'agentivus' transformed into the English word 'agentive', and with the addition of 'non-', it became 'non-agentive'.

Initially, it meant 'not involving an agent', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.