'nonadaptive' originates from English, formed by the negative prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non') meaning 'not' combined with 'adaptive', which comes from Latin 'adaptare' where 'ad-' meant 'toward' and 'aptare' (or 'apt-') meant 'to fit'.

'nonadaptive' arose in modern English by adding the productive prefix 'non-' to the adjective 'adaptive'; 'adaptive' derives from Middle English 'adapt' (from Old French 'adapter'), ultimately from Latin 'adaptare'.

Initially, the root 'adapt' meant 'to fit' and 'adaptive' meant 'capable of adapting'; 'nonadaptive' has come to mean 'not capable of or not showing adaptation' and, in evolutionary contexts, 'not arising from adaptive processes'.