non-supporting
|non-sup-port-ing|
🇺🇸
/nɑn səˈpɔrtɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/nɒn səˈpɔːtɪŋ/
not giving support
Etymology
'non-supporting' originates from English, specifically the negative prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non' meaning 'not') combined with 'supporting' derived from 'support'.
'support' entered English via Old French (e.g. 'supporter') from Latin 'supportare' (from 'sub-' + 'portare' meaning 'to carry beneath'); the present participle 'supporting' produced the phrase which later took the negative prefix 'non-' in Modern English to form 'non-supporting'.
Initially, 'support' meant 'to carry from beneath' (physical support); over time it broadened to include emotional, moral, and evidential senses. 'Non-supporting' therefore originally described lack of physical support and now also denotes lack of emotional or evidential support.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not providing physical, structural, emotional, or moral support; lacking supportive qualities.
The old beam was non-supporting and had to be replaced to secure the roof.
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Adjective 2
not endorsing or corroborating a claim, theory, or conclusion; failing to provide evidence in favor of something.
The results were non-supporting of the original hypothesis, so the team revised their approach.
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Last updated: 2026/01/06 04:58