Etymograph

English

auto

Auto is a clipping of automatic, from New Latin automaticus, from Ancient Greek αὐτόματος ‘self-acting’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mn̥tós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mətós1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὐτόματος1autómătos‘self-acting, spontaneous’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὐτόματον1autómăton‘automaton’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEautomatum1‘automaton’
  7. New Latinc. 1500–1900automaticus1‘automatic’
  8. English1500–presentautomatic1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2023auto1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English auto
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Evelynn Kersting, GAMES AND TIME: “For the first eight years of the Tetris Championship…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, English auto‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mn̥tósWiktionary, English autoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mətósWiktionary, English autoreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὐτόματοςWiktionary, English autoautómătos‘self-acting, spontaneous’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὐτόματονWiktionary, English autoautómăton‘automaton’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEautomatumWiktionary, English auto‘automaton’
  7. New Latinc. 1500–1900automaticusWiktionary, English auto‘automatic’
  8. English1500–presentautomaticWiktionary, English auto
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2023autoWiktionary, English auto. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Evelynn Kersting, GAMES AND TIME: “For the first eight years of the Tetris Championship…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with auto, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think, mind’

  • money ← moneye ← muneie ← monoie ← moneie
  • music ← musik ← musik ← mūsica ← μουσική
  • mind ← minde ← mynd ← *mundi ← *mundiz
  • amount ← amounten ← amonter ← amont ← mont
  • comment ← coment ← coment ← commentum
  • remain ← remainen ← remaneō ← maneō ← *m(V)nēō
  • mention ← mencioun ← mentiōnem ← mentiō ← meminī
  • mountain ← mountayne ← muntaine ← montānia ← montem
  • museum ← Μουσεῖον ← Μοῦσᾰ
  • permanent ← permanēns ← permaneō ← maneō ← *m̥néh₁yeti
  • monster ← monstre ← monstre ← mōnstrum ← *monestrom
  • mouth ← mūþ ← *munþ ← *munþaz ← *mn̥-tó-s

158 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of auto

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō‘to move, stir, set in motion’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōbili
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentmobile
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentautomobile‘automotive’
  8. English1500–presentautomobile
  9. Englishtodayauto

Another origin of auto

  1. Spanishc. 1500–presentauto
  2. Englishtodayauto

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Today it means

adj A setting for automatic operation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “auto”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / auto