'astriction' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'astringere', where the prefix 'ad-' (appearing as 'as-') meant 'toward' and 'stringere' meant 'to draw tight, bind'.

'astriction' passed into Late/Medieval Latin as 'astrictio' (or 'asstrictio') and was adopted into English in early modern usage as 'astriction'.

Initially it meant 'the action of binding or drawing tight'; over time the sense shifted toward 'constriction' or 'narrowing' and the word became rare/archaic, surviving mainly in technical or medical contexts.