'chiasmic' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'chiasma' (χίασμα), where the root 'chi-' refers to the Greek letter 'chi' (χ) and the notion of a cross or X-shaped crossing.

'chiasmic' is derived from the classical Greek noun 'chiasma' via Latin/Medieval Latin 'chiasmus' and entered English as 'chiasmus'; the adjective 'chiasmic' was later formed in English to describe things relating to that crossing structure.

Initially it referred literally to a crossing or X-shaped mark; over time it evolved to describe a rhetorical or structural reversal (the modern sense of 'arranged in an ABBA or mirror order').