Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word αὐτοψία
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Compound
- First attested
- 1–100 Dioscorides More words from the 1st century
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-
Pronunciation
Forms
αὐτοψῐ́ᾱ (autopsíā) f (genitive αὐτοψῐ́ᾱς); first declension[1]
Etymology
It is a compound, from Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-) + -οψία (-opsíā), “a seeing for oneself”.[1][2] Bailly derives it from αὔτοπτος (aútoptos) “seen oneself”,[3] Babiniotis from αὐτόπτης (autóptēs) “eyewitness”.[4] Etymonline traces the second part, ὄψις (ópsis) “sight”, to the root Proto-Indo-European *okʷ- (“to see”).[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found in the preface of Dioscorides (1st century AD), for what he learned by his own observation.[5][6]
Semantic evolution
Lucian opens On the Syrian Goddess with τὰ μὲν αὐτοψίῃ ἔμαθον, “some things I learned by seeing them myself”.[5][7] Papyri and inscriptions of the 2nd century AD use it for an official's inspection on the spot.[5] In medicine Galen sets αὐτοψία, what one has observed oneself, against ἱστορία, what one learns from others' observations.[5]
The Neoplatonists used it for a supernatural vision, the appearance of a god or daemon: Porphyry tells of a daemon summoned to appear in this way to Plotinus, and Iamblichus, Proclus and Damascius use it too.[5] In the magical papyri it is the rite that brings about such a vision, spelled αὐθοψία.[5]
English autopsy meant “a seeing for oneself” in the 1650s, and by the 1670s the dissection of a body, probably after French autopsie.[2] Modern Greek αυτοψία (aftopsía) keeps the older sense of an inspection on the spot by an official,[8] while other languages have the specialised sense of a post-mortem examination.[4]
Timeline
- 1st century AD – Dioscorides uses it for knowledge from personal observation.[5]
- 2nd century AD – Papyri use it for an official's inspection on the spot.[5]
- 2nd century AD – Lucian uses it for seeing something for oneself.[5][7]
- 2nd century AD – Galen uses it for a physician's own observation.[5]
- 3rd century AD – Porphyry uses it for the appearance of a daemon.[5]
- 5th century AD – Proclus uses it for a supernatural vision.[5]
- 1650s – English autopsy is recorded for seeing with one's own eyes.[2]
- 1670s – The English word is first used for the dissection of a body.[2]
- Modern Greek – αυτοψία (aftopsía) is used for an official inspection on the spot.[8]
Meanings
Noun
- Seeing with one's own eyes, personal observation.[5][7]
- An official inspection on the spot.[5]
- (medicine) The physician's own observation of cases.[5]
- (Neoplatonism) A supernatural vision, the appearance of a god.[5][9]
- (magic) A rite to bring about such a vision.[5]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
- ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
- ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
- ^ a b c Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
- ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
Cite this entry
“Αὐτοψία.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%CE%B1%E1%BD%90%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%88%CE%AF%CE%B1. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.
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