'resistir' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'resistere' where 're-' meant 'back' and 'sistere' (from 'stare') meant 'to stand'.

'resistere' passed into Vulgar/Medieval Latin and Old Spanish (via forms like 'resistir'), influenced by Old French 'resister', and eventually became modern Spanish 'resistir'.

Initially it meant 'to stand back' or 'to stand firm against', and over time it evolved into the modern senses of 'to oppose, to withstand, to endure'.