'non-memorial' originates from two elements: 'non' (from Latin 'non'), where 'non' meant 'not', and 'memorial' (from Latin 'memorialis'), where 'memor' meant 'mindful' or 'remembering'.

'memorial' came into English via Latin 'memorialis' through Old French 'memorial' and Middle English 'memorial'; the negative prefix 'non' has Latin roots ('non') and has long been used in English as a productive negating prefix, forming compounds like 'non-...' to indicate absence or negation.

Initially the components meant 'not' + 'of memory' (i.e., 'not of or relating to memory'); over time the compound has been used to mean specifically 'not commemorative' or 'not intended as a memorial'.