I. əˈkrȯstik, -ēk, -äs- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French & Greek; Middle French acrostiche, from Greek akrostichis, from akr- acr- + -stichis (from stichos line); akin to steichein to go — more at stair
1. : a composition usually in verse in which one or more sets of letters (as the initial, middle, or final letters of the lines) when taken in order form a word, a connected group of words (as a sentence), or the regular sequence of the letters of the alphabet — compare abecedarius
2.
a. : acronym
b. : a word made from any of the letters in the words of a phrase
3. : a series of words of equal length, the number of words being the same as the number of letters in each word, so arranged that it is the same when read horizontally or vertically
II. adjective
also acros·ti·cal -ə̇kəl
: characterized by, containing, or made up by means of an acrostic
an acrostic name
an acrostic poem
an acrostic anagram
• acros·ti·cal·ly -tə̇k(ə)lē, -li adverb