'ballistic' originates from Modern Latin 'ballistica' (and Latin 'ballista'), ultimately from Greek 'ballein', where 'ballein' meant 'to throw'.

'ballistic' changed from Latin 'ballista' (a missile‑throwing engine) and medieval/Old French forms (e.g. 'baliste') into scientific usage in English as the noun 'ballistics' in the late 18th/early 19th century; the adjective 'ballistic' and adverbial forms like 'ballistically' developed from that base.

Initially, it meant 'relating to missile‑throwing engines or the study of projectiles'; over time it evolved into the modern technical sense 'relating to the motion of projectiles' and also acquired the informal sense 'becoming extremely angry' (from the idiom 'go ballistic').