'non-agricultural' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and 'agricultural' from Latin 'agricultura', where 'agri-' meant 'field' and 'cultura' meant 'cultivation'.

'Agricultura' transformed into the Old French word 'agriculture', and eventually became the modern English word 'agricultural'. The prefix 'non-' was added to form 'non-agricultural'.

Initially, it meant 'not related to the cultivation of fields', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.