'nonattributive' originates from English formation using the prefix 'non-' (ultimately from Latin 'non') combined with 'attributive', which in turn derives from Latin 'attribuere'; 'non' meant 'not' and Latin elements 'ad-' and 'tribuere' meant 'toward' and 'to give' (or 'assign') respectively.

'attributive' developed from Latin 'attribuere' (through Old French/Medieval Latin and Middle English forms like 'attribute'), becoming the English adjective 'attributive'; the negative prefix 'non-' was later attached in English to create 'nonattributive' as a technical descriptive term.

Originally the Latin root 'attribuere' meant 'to give or assign'; over time 'attributive' came to describe a grammatical role (used before a noun to modify it), and 'nonattributive' evolved to mean 'not used before a noun (i.e., not attributive)'.