'nonfoliated' originates from English, formed from the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non' meaning 'not') and 'foliated', ultimately from Latin 'folium' meaning 'leaf'.

'foliated' comes via Latin 'foliatus' (past participle related to 'folium'), entered English as 'foliate/foliated' to describe leaf-like or layered forms; the modern compound 'nonfoliated' was created in English by adding the negative prefix 'non-' to mean 'not foliated'.

Initially, 'foliate' and 'foliated' related to 'leaf' or leaf-like layers; over time 'foliated' came to describe layered textures in rocks, and 'nonfoliated' developed to denote rocks that do not show such foliation.