'nonconformity' originates from the prefix 'non-' (a negation) combined with 'conformity', which comes from Latin 'conformitas' via Old French, where 'con-' meant 'together' and 'formare' meant 'to form'.

'nonconformity' was formed in Modern English by adding the prefix 'non-' to 'conformity' (Middle English/Old French 'conformité'), which itself derives from Latin 'conformitas' and ultimately 'conformare'.

Initially, the root 'conformare' meant 'to form together' or 'to make similar'; over time 'conformity' came to mean 'agreement with a standard' and 'non-' simply negated that, yielding the current meaning of 'lack of conformity' or 'refusal to conform'.