'non-exempt' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and the word 'exempt' from Latin 'exemptus', meaning 'taken out'.

'exemptus' transformed into the Old French word 'exempt', and eventually became the modern English word 'exempt'.

Initially, 'exempt' meant 'taken out or freed from', and 'non-exempt' evolved to mean 'not freed from'.