Where does “acrosticism” come from?

acrosticism (English) comes from English acrostic, from Middle French acrostiche, from Latin acrostichis, from Ancient Greek ἀκροστιχίς, from Ancient Greek ἄκρος, from Ancient Greek ὦμος, from Proto-Indo-European h₃émōs — shoulder.

acrosticism (English): Acrostic arrangement or character

Definitions

  1. Acrostic arrangement or character

Ancestry of “acrosticism”, step by step

acrosticism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English acrostic

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishacrosticA poem or other text in which certain letters,...
2Middle Frenchacrostiche
3Latinacrostichis
4Ancient Greekἀκροστιχίςacrostic
5Ancient GreekἄκροςAt the edge, extreme, beginning, end: outermost;...
6Ancient Greekὦμοςthe shoulder with the upper arm
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃émōsshoulder

via English ism

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishismAn ideology, system of thought, or practice that...
2English-ismUsed to form nouns of action or process or result...
3Latin-ismus-ism
4Ancient Greek-ισμόςForms abstract nouns
5Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
6Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃émōsEvery word from Ancient Greek ὦμοςEvery word from Ancient Greek ἄκρος