'nonempirical' originates from Modern English, formed by the prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not') attached to the adjective 'empirical'. 'empirical' in turn comes from Late Latin 'empiricus', from Greek 'empeirikos', ultimately related to Greek 'empeiria' meaning 'experience'.

'empirical' changed from Greek 'empeiria' to Greek adjective 'empeirikos', then to Late Latin 'empiricus' and Middle English 'empiric'/'empirical'; the negative prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non', used in Late and Middle English) was added in Modern English to form 'nonempirical'.

The components originally referred to 'experience' (Greek 'empeiria'); combining 'non-' with 'empirical' produced the meaning 'not based on experience or observation', which has remained stable in modern usage.