early 15c., "of or pertaining to physiological digestion," also "promoting digestion," from Old French digestif (14c.) and directly from Late Latin digestivus "pertaining to digestion," from digest-, past-participle stem of Latin digerere "to separate, divide, arrange," etymologically "to carry apart," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + gerere "to carry" (see gest).
Earlier in English as a noun, "a preparation or medicine which aids digestion" (late 14c.), from French, short for medecin digestif. The noun in the French form digestif is attested from 1908.