'nondescript' originates from English, specifically formed from the prefix 'non-' and the adjective 'descript' (from Latin 'describere'), where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'describere' meant 'to write down or describe'.

'nondescript' changed through elements from Latin and Romance languages: Latin 'describere' produced Old French 'decrire' (to describe) and Middle English 'describe/described', with the past-participle form 'descript' later used in English; the modern compound 'nondescript' (non- + descript) developed in English in the 18th–19th century.

Initially it carried the literal sense 'not described' or 'not classifiable'; over time it evolved to mean 'lacking distinctive features' or 'hard to describe' in ordinary usage.