'non-burgess' originates from English, specifically formed from the prefix 'non-' (ultimately from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') combined with the noun 'burgess' (from Old French 'burgeis').

'non-burgess' was created in Modern English by prefixing 'non-' to Middle English 'burgess' (also seen as 'burges' or 'burgeis'); 'burgess' itself came into English from Old French 'burgeis' and Medieval Latin 'burgensis', originally referring to an inhabitant or freeman of a borough.

Initially, 'burgess' meant 'a freeman or town-dweller with rights in a borough', and 'non-burgess' simply meant 'not such a person'; over time the negational sense has remained, though both terms are now largely historical or legal.