autonomous English · revision 15508

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1777|origins=grc αὐτός, grc νόμος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɔːˈtɒnəməs/ ''(UK)''; /ɔˈtɑnəməs/, /ɑˈtɑnəməs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[grc|αὐτόνομος|tr=autónomos|t=having its own laws]] and [[-ous]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|grc|αὐτός|tr=autós|t=self]] and [[m|grc|νόμος|tr=nómos|t=law]] (see [[autonomy]]),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*nem-|t=to assign, allot]].^(Etymonline) Of animals the Greek word meant feeding or ranging at will.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Subject to its own laws: 1777, in translations of Montesquieu, in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates it to 1799, and the OED's first quotation, relating to an autonomy, to 1800.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Self-governing, independent, is from 1804,^(OED 1989) and in biology an independent organism from 1861.^(OED 1989) It has been used mostly in metaphysics and politics,^(Etymonline) and in Kant's philosophy of a will that gives itself its own law.^(Collins 2023) Machines that operate without human control, as autonomous vehicles, are a recent use of the sense independent.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1777 – subject to its own laws.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1800 – relating to autonomy.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1804 – self-governing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1861 – independent (biology).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Self-governing, especially in local or internal affairs: ''an autonomous region''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Acting independently; not controlled by others.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' Acting according to principles of one's own choosing.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[autonomously]]

+ * [[nonautonomous]]

+ * [[semiautonomous]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[autonomic]]

+ * [[autonomy]]

+ * [[auto-]]

+ * [[astronomy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}