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autoimmune

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Etymology and origin of the English word autoimmune

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1908 L. S. Dudgeon, Proceedings of the Royal Society
Ultimate origins
Ancient Greek αὐτόςLatin immūnis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin immunis
English immune
English autoimmune
From the same root
Latin immunitas ← immunis

Pronunciation

  • /ˌɔːtəʊɪˈmjuːn/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English auto- + immune,[2][3][4] after autoimmunity in the OED's account;[2] Merriam-Webster instead takes it as a back-formation from autoimmunization.[5] Auto- is from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self, same”),[3] and immune from Latin immūnis (“exempt from public service, untaxed”).[3] Autoimmunity (1901) was itself modelled on French auto-immunité, recorded from 1896.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of serum and red blood cells taken from the same patient, or showing immunity that arises naturally: 1908, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.[2]

Semantic evolution

The first uses described immunity the body produced by its own means, the first sense of autoimmunity, recorded from 1901.[2] The modern sense, an immune response of the body against its own healthy cells and tissues, dates from the 1950s: the adjective is recorded in it from 1952, in the American Journal of Medicine, especially in autoimmune disease.[2][3][5] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1950–55.[4]

Timeline

  • 1908 – of blood or serum from the same patient; showing naturally arising immunity.[2]
  • 1952 – caused by an immune response against the body's own tissues, as autoimmune disease.[2][3][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to or caused by antibodies or T cells that attack the body's own cells and tissues: an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid.[5][6][2]

Word family

  • autoimmunity
  • autoimmunization

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Autoimmune.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/autoimmune. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·