'astigmism' originates from New Latin/Greek, specifically from Greek elements 'a-' meaning 'not' and 'stigma' (στίγμα) meaning 'mark' or 'point', combined into Neo-Latin 'astigmatismus' and later adapted into English as the medical term.

'astigmism' changed from the New Latin/Greek medical term 'astigmatismus' (and the related English 'astigmatism') and eventually appeared in English usage as the variant spelling 'astigmism' referring to the same condition.

Initially, the formation referred generally to a condition 'without a point' (referring to lack of a single focal point); over time it became the technical term for the optical condition now usually spelled 'astigmatism'.