'nonviolently' originates from English, ultimately combining the prefix 'non-' (from Old English and Latin 'non') meaning 'not' and the adjective 'violent' from Latin 'violentus' (from 'vis') where 'vis' meant 'force'.

'violent' comes from Latin 'violens'/'violentus' and passed into Old French as 'violent' before entering Middle English; 'non-' was added in English to form 'nonviolent', and '-ly' was later appended to create the adverb 'nonviolently'.

Initially related words in Latin meant 'forceful' or 'powerful', but when 'non-' was attached in English the meaning shifted to 'not violent', and 'nonviolently' specifically came to mean 'in a manner without violence'.