'astringe' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'astringere,' where 'ad-' (appearing as 'as-') meant 'to' and 'stringere' meant 'to bind or tighten'.

'astringere' passed into Medieval and Early Modern English usage (often via scholarly or medical Latin and through Old/Anglo-French influence) as forms like 'astringe' or similar borrowings, eventually surviving in English as the rare verb 'astringe'.

Initially it meant 'to bind or tighten' in a literal sense, and over time it came to include the related senses 'to cause contraction or puckering' and the figurative sense 'to restrain or check', which are used in modern English.