'non-cyanobacterial' originates from Modern English, specifically the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') combined with 'cyanobacterial' (from 'cyanobacteria'), where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'cyanobacterial' related to 'cyanobacteria'.

'cyanobacterial' comes from 'cyanobacteria' (New Latin), which is formed from Greek 'kyanos' meaning 'dark blue' + New Latin/Modern Greek-based 'bacteria' (from Greek 'bakterion' meaning 'small staff'); the adjective 'cyanobacterial' developed from the noun 'cyanobacteria', and the modern compound 'non-cyanobacterial' was formed in Modern English by adding the negative prefix 'non-'.

Initially, elements meant 'not' (non-) and 'blue-staining bacteria' (cyanobacteria); over time the compound came to mean more generally 'not associated with cyanobacteria' in scientific contexts.