'astrocytic' originates from New Latin/Greek, specifically from the noun 'astrocyte' (from Greek 'astron' meaning 'star' and 'kytos' meaning 'cell'), with the English adjectival suffix '-ic' meaning 'pertaining to'.

'astrocyte' was formed from Greek elements ('astron' + 'kytos') into New Latin/Modern scientific usage as 'astrocyte', and the adjective 'astrocytic' developed by adding the '-ic' suffix to mean 'pertaining to astrocytes'.

Initially it meant 'pertaining to a star-shaped cell', and over time it has remained a technical adjective meaning 'relating to or characteristic of astrocytes'.