'non-eosinophilic' is formed from the prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not') attached to 'eosinophilic'. 'Eosinophilic' comes from 'eosin' (a dye name) + Greek-derived suffix '-phil'/'-philic' meaning 'loving' or 'having an affinity for.'

'eosin' was named in the 19th century from Greek 'Ēōs' (Ἠώς) meaning 'dawn' because of the dye's rosy color; 'eosinophil' was coined to name cells that stain readily with eosin, and 'eosinophilic' developed as the adjective. The modern compound 'non-eosinophilic' is a productive negated adjective formed in modern English by prefixing 'non-'.

Originally 'eosin' referred to the dye and 'eosinophilic' to cells staining with that dye; over time 'eosinophilic' broadened to describe conditions associated with eosinophils, and 'non-eosinophilic' now denotes the absence or lack of such eosinophil association.