'astrogate' originates from modern English coinage combining the Greek-derived prefix 'astro-' (from Greek 'astron', meaning 'star') with a back-formation patterned on 'navigate'/'navigation' (ultimately from Latin 'navigare', 'to sail').

'astrogate' developed in 20th-century English (notably in science-fiction usage) as a back-formation from the noun 'astrogation' (itself formed by analogy to 'navigation'); it was adopted into jargon for spacecraft navigation.

Initially coined to mean 'to navigate among the stars' in speculative/science-fiction contexts; the meaning has remained focused on space navigation, occasionally used metaphorically.