Etymologically
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auto

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 01:26. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈɔː.təʊ/, US /ˈɑː.t̬oʊ/, /ˈɔː.t̬oʊ/[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening from English automobile,[2][3][4] perhaps after French auto;[5] French and German auto came about the same way.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A motor car: 1899 in American English, in the OED, Etymonline, Barnhart and MWU.[5][2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to travel by car, is from 1901 in MWU and 1909 in the OED.[4][5] As a short form of automatic it is from 1876 in MWU, now especially of a car's gearbox or a camera setting.[4][6] In Indian English it is short for autorickshaw.[6] Rare clippings of autotype (1882) and autobiography (1940) also occur.[5]

Timeline

  • 1876 – short for automatic.[4]
  • 1899 – a motor car.[5][2]
  • 1901 – verb, to go by car.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (chiefly US, informal) A car; an automobile.
  2. (Indian English) An autorickshaw.

Adjective

  1. Short for automatic.

Word family

  • autocade
  • autocide
  • autoist
  • automaker
  • autoworker
  • auto court
  • auto racing

Usage notes

A different auto, from Spanish and Portuguese auto “act”, from Latin actus, is a short religious play performed in Spain and Portugal (1563 in MWU) and short for auto-da-fé.[4][7][5]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press