Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Peristaltic \Per`i*stal"tic\, a. [Gr. ? clasping and
   compressing, fr. ? to surround, wrap up; ? round + ? to
   place, arrange: cf. F. p['e]ristaltique.] (Physiol.)
   Applied to the peculiar wormlike wave motion of the
   intestines and other similar structures, produced by the
   successive contraction of the muscular fibers of their walls,
   forcing their contents onwards; as, peristaltic movement. --
   {Per`i*stal"tic*al*ly}, adv.