'nonpredicative' originates from English, specifically formed from the prefix 'non-' and the adjective 'predicative', where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'predicative' is related to 'predicate' (having to do with asserting or attributing a property).

'predicative' comes from Latin 'praedicativus' (from 'praedicare', 'to proclaim, to predicate'), and the modern English adjective 'predicative' developed from these Latin roots through Medieval Latin and Old French; 'non-' was later combined in English to form 'nonpredicative'.

Initially, elements related to 'predicate' referred to proclaiming or asserting; over time the term 'predicative' came to describe grammatical use as a predicate, and 'nonpredicative' developed to mean 'not usable as a predicate' in grammar.