'astigmatoscopy' originates from Greek via New Latin/modern medical coinage, specifically from the Greek word 'astigmatismos' and the Greek verb 'skopein', where 'a-' meant 'not', 'stigma' meant 'point' and 'skopein' meant 'to look' or 'to examine'.

'astigmatoscopy' was formed in English by combining the noun 'astigmatism' (derived from Greek 'astigmatismos' → New Latin 'astigmatismus') with the suffix '-oscopy' (from Greek 'skopein'); the compound appeared in medical usage in the late 19th to early 20th century as terminology for procedures to examine astigmatism.

Initially it referred broadly to examination relating to the lack of a single focal point ('astigmatism'), but over time it evolved into the specific procedural sense: 'a diagnostic method to detect and measure astigmatism'.