'non-clasping' originates from English, formed from the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non' meaning 'not') and the present participle 'clasping' derived from the verb 'clasp'.

'clasp' changed from Old English 'clyppan' (to seize, embrace) into Middle English 'clasp' and later produced the participial form 'clasping'; the modern compound 'non-clasping' is a recent English formation combining 'non-' + 'clasping'.

Initially it meant simply 'not clasping' (a literal negative of 'clasping'), and this literal negative sense has been retained in modern usage.