atechnical (adj.)

1610s, of persons, "skilled in a particular art or subject," formed in English from technic + -al (1), or in part from Latinized form of Greek tekhnikos "of art; systematic," in reference to persons "skillful, artistic," from tekhnē "art, skill, craft" (see techno-). Related: Technicalness.

Of words, terms, etc. from 1650s. The narrower sense of "of or pertaining to the mechanical and professional arts; appropriate to a science, profession, or trade" is by 1727.

The basketball technical foul (one which does not involve contact between opponents) is recorded from 1934. The boxing technical knock-out (in which the defeated fighter remains conscious) is recorded from 1921; its abbreviation TKO is from 1940s. Technical difficulty is attested from 1805, in reference to legal procedure.

prefix meaning "not, without," from Greek a-, an- "not" (the "alpha privative"), from PIE root *ne- "not" (source also of English un-).

In words from Greek, such as abysmal, adamant, amethyst; also partly nativized as a prefix of negation (asexual, amoral, agnostic). The ancient alpha privatum, denoting want or absence.

Greek also had an alpha copulativum, a- or ha-, expressing union or likeness, which is the a- expressing "together" in acolyte, acoustic, Adelphi, etc. It is from PIE root *sem- (1) "one; as one, together with."