'spiritistic' originates from English, specifically the word 'spirit' and the adjectival suffix '-istic' (from Greek '-istikos' via Latin/French), where Latin 'spiritus' meant 'breath; spirit' and '-istikos' meant 'pertaining to'.

'spiritistic' changed from the noun 'spirit' (from Latin 'spiritus' through Old French 'esprit' and Middle English 'spirit') combined with the suffix '-istic'. The formation was influenced by 19th-century terms such as French 'spiritisme' ('spiritism') and English 'spiritism', leading to adjectival forms like 'spiritistic'.

Initially, roots referred broadly to 'breath' or 'spirit', but over time the adjective 'spiritistic' came to mean specifically 'pertaining to spiritism or the practices of communicating with spirits'.