'non-andesite' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'non' (ultimately from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') combined with 'andesite' (named after the Andes Mountains with the suffix '-ite' used for minerals and rocks).

'andesite' was coined in the 19th century from the geographic name 'Andes' plus the mineral suffix '-ite' and entered scientific English as the petrological term 'andesite'; the productive English prefix 'non-' has long been used to form negations, producing compounds like 'non-andesite' to denote rocks that are not andesite.

Initially 'andesite' referred to rock associated with the Andes; over time it became the general petrological term for that intermediate volcanic rock type, and 'non-andesite' evolved simply to mean 'not andesite'.