'non-stereoscopic' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'non' meaning 'not', combined with 'stereoscopic' which comes from Greek elements 'stereos' and 'skopein' (see).

'stereoscopic' was formed in the 19th century from the combining form 'stereo-' (from Greek 'stereos' meaning 'solid') and the suffix '-scopic' (from Greek 'skopein' meaning 'to look' or 'to view'); 'non-' was later prefixed in English to negate it, yielding 'non-stereoscopic'.

Initially 'stereoscopic' referred to producing a solid or three-dimensional view; adding the negating prefix 'non-' created a word meaning 'not producing or relating to that three-dimensional effect', which is the current meaning of 'non-stereoscopic'.