'digestive' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'digestivus', where 'digest-' meant 'to distribute' and '-ivus' was a suffix forming adjectives.

'digestivus' transformed into the Old French word 'digestif', and eventually became the modern English word 'digestive' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'related to digestion', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.