'nontransmissible' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and the word 'transmissible', which comes from Latin 'transmissibilis', where 'trans-' meant 'across' and 'mittere' meant 'to send'.

'transmissibilis' transformed into the French word 'transmissible', and eventually became the modern English word 'transmissible', with 'non-' added to form 'nontransmissible'.

Initially, it meant 'not capable of being sent across', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.