'nonwetting' originates from English, specifically formed from the prefix 'non-' and the verb 'wet' (Old English 'wǣt'), where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'wǣt' meant 'moist'.

'nonwetting' is a modern English compound. The element 'wet' came from Old English 'wǣt' → Middle English 'wet' and into modern English as 'wet'; the negative prefix 'non-' comes from Latin 'non' and became productive in English to form negating compounds, resulting in formations such as 'non-wetting' in technical usage.

Initially it literally meant 'not wetting' (i.e., not becoming wet); over time it has been specialized in scientific and engineering contexts to describe surfaces or behaviors that resist being wetted, especially by water.