'non-competitive' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and the word 'competitive' from Latin 'competere', where 'com-' meant 'together' and 'petere' meant 'to seek'.

'competere' transformed into the French word 'compétitif', and eventually became the modern English word 'competitive', with 'non-' added to form 'non-competitive'.

Initially, 'competitive' meant 'to strive together', but 'non-competitive' evolved to mean 'not involving competition'.