'noncognition' is formed by the negative prefix 'non-' (used in Modern English, ultimately from Latin/Old English usage of 'non'/'ne-') combined with 'cognition,' which comes from Latin 'cognitio' (from the verb 'cognoscere'), where 'cognoscere' meant 'to learn' or 'to know'.

'cognition' derives from Latin 'cognitio' (from 'cognoscere') and passed into English via Late Latin and French-influenced medieval usage; 'non-' was later affixed in Modern English to produce the compound noun 'noncognition' meaning 'absence of cognition'.

Originally 'cognitio' referred to the act of knowing or getting to know; the modern formation 'noncognition' simply denotes the negation or absence of that act and has retained that basic negative meaning.