'coordinative' originates from Latin (via Medieval Latin and French), specifically from the Medieval Latin word 'coordinativus' and the Latin verb 'coordinare', where 'co-' meant 'together' and 'ordinare' meant 'to order'.

'coordinative' developed from Medieval Latin 'coordinativus' and passed into French (e.g. 'coordinatif') before being adopted into English as 'coordinative' in the modern period; the element 'coordinate' itself comes from Latin 'coordinare' (past participle 'coordinatus').

Initially it carried the sense 'putting or ordering together' (from the Latin root), and over time it settled into the modern senses 'relating to coordination/organizing' and the grammatical sense 'relating to coordination of equal elements'.