'averroistic' originates from the Latinized name 'Averroes' (the Western form of the Arabic name 'Ibn Rushd'), with the English adjectival suffix '-istic' added to indicate relation to his doctrines or style.

'Averroes' entered medieval and modern European languages as the Latinized form of the Arabic name 'Ibn Rushd'; from this Latin/English usage came nouns such as 'Averroism' and adjectival forms like 'averroistic' in modern English.

Initially it meant 'of or relating directly to Averroes (the person)'; over time it came to mean 'relating to the doctrines, interpretive approach, or intellectual tendency associated with Averroes' (often a broadly applied label for certain rationalist readings).