'noncatalytic' is formed from the negative prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', meaning 'not') + the adjective 'catalytic', which in turn comes from terms related to 'catalysis' in Greek.

'catalytic' developed from Neo-Latin/Modern Latin formations based on Greek 'katalysis' (from Greek 'katalyein'), and the English adjective 'catalytic' arose from 'catalyst' + '-ic'; the modern English compound 'noncatalytic' is created by adding the prefix 'non-' to that adjective.

The Greek root originally referred to 'loosening' or 'dissolution' (katalysis), later adopted in chemistry to describe processes accelerated by a catalyst; 'noncatalytic' evolved to mean 'not involving such catalytic action.'