'non-committal' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and the word 'committal' which comes from 'commit', meaning 'to pledge or bind to a certain course or policy'.

'committal' changed from the Latin word 'committere', which meant 'to join, entrust', and eventually became the modern English word 'commit'.

Initially, it meant 'not binding oneself to a particular course', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.