'non-halophilous' is a modern English formation combining the prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not') with 'halophilous', where 'halophilous' comes from Greek elements 'halo-' meaning 'salt' and '-philous' from 'philos' meaning 'loving'.

'halophilous' is built from Greek 'halos' ('salt') + 'philos' ('loving'); English adopted the scientific formation 'halophilous' and later formed the negated adjective 'non-halophilous' by adding the productive English prefix 'non-'.

Originally formed to describe organisms that 'love' or prefer salty conditions ('halophilous'); with the prefix 'non-' the meaning shifted to indicate 'not salt-loving' or 'incapable of tolerating salty conditions.'