'nonprimality' originates from English, specifically the prefix 'non-' and the word 'primality', where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'primality' meant 'the state of being prime (or primary)'.

'primality' developed from Middle English 'primal' + the nominalizing suffix '-ity'; 'primal' ultimately comes from Latin 'primus' meaning 'first'. The modern compound 'nonprimality' is formed by adding the productive negative prefix 'non-' to the mathematical noun 'primality'.

Initially, elements of the root ('primal') related to being 'first' or 'primary' from Latin 'primus'; in mathematics 'prime' and 'primality' came to denote the property of being a prime number. 'Nonprimality' thus evolved to mean 'not having that property'—i.e., not prime.