'peristaltic' originates from Greek (via New Latin/medical usage), specifically the word 'peristaltikos', where 'peri-' meant 'around' and the root related to 'stalt-'/'stallein' carried the sense 'to contract/move'.

'peristaltic' changed from New Latin 'peristalticus' (used in medical/physiological contexts) and is related to the noun 'peristalsis'; it entered English usage through scientific literature in the 18th century and became the modern English 'peristaltic' (and the adverb 'peristaltically').

Initially it referred generally to contraction or motion 'around' (the sense of surrounding contraction); over time it narrowed to its current specialized meaning 'relating to wave-like muscular contractions that propel contents through tubular organs'.