'non-mechanistic' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non' meaning 'not') attached to 'mechanistic' (from roots related to 'mechanism'/'machine').

'mechanistic' derives from Late Latin/French terms related to 'machina'/'mécanique' (from Greek 'mēkhanē' meaning 'device, contrivance'), which entered English as 'mechanic'/'mechanism' and later produced the adjective 'mechanistic'; 'non-' was then prefixed in English to create 'non-mechanistic'.

Initially related to machines or mechanical devices ('relating to a machine'), the sense broadened to denote explanations framed as machine-like or reductionist; 'non-mechanistic' evolved to mean 'not explainable by or committed to such machine-like/reductionist accounts'.