'non-payment' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and the word 'payment', which comes from the Old French 'paiment', meaning 'action of paying'.

'paiment' transformed into the Middle English word 'payment', and eventually became the modern English word 'payment'. The prefix 'non-' was added to denote the absence of payment.

Initially, it meant 'not paying', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.