'non-producing' originates from Latin, specifically the prefix 'non' and the verb 'producere', where 'non' meant 'not' and 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'ducere' meant 'to lead.'

'produce' changed from Latin 'producere' to Old French 'produire' and then into Middle English 'produce'; the modern compound 'non-producing' formed in English by combining the negative prefix 'non-' with the present participle 'producing.'

Initially, it meant 'not producing or yielding,' and this core meaning has remained largely unchanged into modern usage.