'acrostic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'akrostikhis,' where 'akron' meant 'end' and 'stikhos' meant 'line.'

'akrostikhis' transformed into the Latin word 'acrostichis,' and eventually became the modern English word 'acrostic' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'a composition where the first letters of each line form a word,' and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.