'non-structure-preserving' originates from English, composed of the prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non' meaning 'not'), the noun 'structure' (from Latin 'structura' meaning 'a fitting together, arrangement'), and the verb 'preserve' (from Latin 'praeservare' meaning 'to keep beforehand' or 'to guard').

'structure' entered English via Latin 'structura' and Old French 'structure'; 'preserve' comes from Latin 'praeservare' through Old French 'preserver' into Middle English; the prefix 'non-' is from Latin 'non' and has been used productively in Modern English to form negating compounds like 'non-...'. The full hyphenated compound is a modern English technical formation.

Initially, the components meant 'not' / 'an arrangement' / 'to keep'; combined in modern technical usage they describe the property 'does not keep (or maintain) the arrangement or structural relations' and are used as a descriptive adjective in mathematics, computer science, and related fields.