'non-lymphoid-tropic' originates from Modern English compounding of the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', meaning 'not'), 'lymphoid' (from New Latin built on Latin 'lympha'/'lymph-', meaning 'clear spring/lymph'), and 'tropic' (from Greek 'tropikos', from 'tropos' meaning 'turn' or 'direction').

'lymph' entered English from Latin 'lympha' (via New Latin usage in medicine), 'lymphoid' was formed in Modern English/New Latin by adding the suffix '-oid' meaning 'resembling', and 'tropic' derives from Greek 'tropikos' (via Neo-Latin/English 'tropism' and 'tropic'); the compound adjective was created in Modern English by hyphenating these descriptive elements.

Initially, component roots referred to 'lymph' (the bodily fluid) and 'tropic' (having a turn or affinity toward). Over time the compounded form has come to mean specifically 'lacking an affinity or targeting for lymphoid tissue' in biomedical contexts.