'nonclassicalism' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'non-' + adjective 'classical' + suffix '-ism', where 'non-' meant 'not' and '-ism' marked a doctrine or system.

'nonclassicalism' is a relatively recent coinage derived by attaching the productive English prefix 'non-' to 'classical' (from Latin 'classicus' via French/English) and then adding the noun-forming suffix '-ism'; it developed as specialized vocabularies (e.g., in the arts and sciences) needed a term to denote opposition to or departure from classical approaches.

Initially formed simply to denote 'not classical' attitudes or doctrines, it has come to be used in technical contexts (such as physics and music) to indicate specific nonclassical phenomena or theoretical positions.