'nonresonant' originates from English, specifically formed from the prefix 'non-' and the adjective 'resonant'. 'non-' ultimately comes from Latin 'non' meaning 'not', and 'resonant' comes from Latin 'resonans' (present participle of 'resonare') where 're-' meant 'again' and 'sonare' meant 'to sound'.

'resonant' changed from Latin 'resonans' (from 'resonare') through Old French/medieval Latin influences into Middle English/early modern English forms (related to 'resound'), and eventually became the modern English adjective 'resonant'. The compound 'nonresonant' was formed in English by adding the negative prefix 'non-' to 'resonant'.

Initially associated with 'sounding again' or 'reverberating' in a physical sense; over time 'resonant' also acquired figurative senses of being emotionally or conceptually striking, and 'nonresonant' now denotes the absence of either physical resonance or figurative resonance.