'nonpsychical' originates from the English negative prefix 'non-' (from Old English/Latin influence 'nān'/'non' meaning 'not') combined with 'psychical', which derives from Greek 'psychē' meaning 'soul, mind' via Latin/Greek-derived forms.

'nonpsychical' arose by prefixing 'non-' to the adjective 'psychical' (a late 19th-century formation from the Greek root 'psychē' through scientific and philosophical English usage). The hyphenated form 'non-psychical' has also been used historically before consolidation into 'nonpsychical'.

Initially formed simply to negate 'psychical' meaning 'not relating to the soul/mind or psychic phenomena'; its current use preserves that negation and is used to distinguish natural/physical explanations from psychic or paranormal ones.