'non-anthracene' originates from the English combining prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') plus the chemical name 'anthracene', where 'anthracene' derives from Greek 'ánthrax' meaning 'coal' combined with the hydrocarbon suffix '-ene'.

'anthracene' was coined in 19th-century chemical nomenclature from Greek 'ánthrax' via New Latin and modern European languages; the productive English prefix 'non-' later attached to form the descriptive compound 'non-anthracene'.

Initially, 'anthracene' named the hydrocarbon associated with coal; the combined form 'non-anthracene' has retained a literal negative meaning, indicating 'not anthracene' in modern chemical and descriptive usage.