'prokinetic' originates from Greek, specifically from the prefix 'pro-' and the word 'kinētikos' (from 'kinein'), where 'pro-' meant 'forward' or 'before' and 'kinein' meant 'to move'.

'prokinetic' was formed in modern medical English by combining the prefix 'pro-' with 'kinetic' (derived from Greek 'kinētikos' via Latin/modern English 'kinetic'), yielding the compound used in contemporary medical contexts.

Initially the elements meant 'forward' and 'to move'; over time the compound came to mean 'promoting movement', and in medical usage it specifically refers to 'promoting gastrointestinal motility'.