'non-possession' is composed of the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') attached to the noun 'possession' (from Latin 'possessionem').

'possession' comes from Latin 'possessionem' (from the verb 'possidēre' meaning 'to have and hold'), passed into Old French and Middle English as 'possession'/'possessioun'; the negative prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non' and used in Late Latin and Old French) was later attached in English to form compounds such as 'non-possession'.

The compound has kept a straightforward meaning: initially 'not possessing' and it continues to mean 'the state of not possessing or owning' in modern usage.