Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “autonomy” come from?

Autonomy derives from Ancient Greek αὐτονομία, composed of αὐτός meaning "self" and νόμος meaning "law" or "custom."

autonomy (English): Self-government; freedom to act or function...

Definitions

  1. Self-government; freedom to act or function...

Ancestry of “autonomy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekαὐτονομῐ́ᾱ—
2Ancient Greekαὐτόνομοςsubject only to one's own laws, independent; of...
3Ancient Greekνόμοςusage, custom; law, ordinance; melody, strain
4Ancient Greekνέμωto deal out, distribute, dispense; to pasture or...
5Proto-Indo-Europeannémossacrifice, worship; place of sacrifice, clearing
6Proto-Indo-Europeannem-to distribute; to give, to take

Words derived from “autonomy”

  • autonomous
  • autonomic
  • autonomously
  • semiautonomous
  • autonomist
  • nonautonomous
  • autonomically
  • dysautonomic
  • semiautonomy
  • nonautonomy
  • semiautonomously
  • nonautonomously
  • neuroautonomic
  • panautonomic
  • autonomousness
  • superautonomous
  • semi-autonomous
  • otonomi
Every word from Proto-Indo-European nem- →