'non-expert' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and the word 'expert', which comes from Latin 'expertus', meaning 'experienced'.

'Expertus' transformed into the Old French word 'expert', and eventually became the modern English word 'expert'. The prefix 'non-' was added to denote the opposite.

Initially, 'expert' meant 'experienced', and the addition of 'non-' has always indicated the lack of such experience.