Root word autobiography
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Perhaps car factories one day will be fully automated from start to finish, enabling machines to do the job entirely them"selves." If that were to be the case, the factory it"self" would be autonomous, or able to fully rule and conduct it"self" with no outside help whatsoever.
Something even faster than an auto is a plane; planes are often put on autopilot, a function where they are able to fly them"selves," hence temporarily not requiring a human pilot.
When something is done automatically, it is done all by it"self" with no outside prompting.
Writers may choose to emphasize personal growth, relationships, societal impact, or historical context.
Etymology
auto-, learned borrowing from Ancient Greekαὐτο- (auto-, “self-”)
+ biography, from New Latin biographia, formed from Ancient Greekβίος (bíos, “life”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write”).
Etymology
The term "autobiography" is derived from three Greek roots:
- Auto- meaning "self"
- Bio- meaning "life"
- Graphy meaning "writing" or "to write."
Putting these together, "autobiography" literally translates to "self-life writing," indicating a narrative mode where an individual writes about their own life experiences.
Thomas, Letter 11 May (1987) 375
1984
An is a book a person writes about his own life and it is usually full of all sorts of boring details.
R. The use of "I" creates a personal connection with the reader.Cultural Significance
Other synonyms for the automobile include automotive and simply auto. Now, the automobile can move all by it"self," that is, under its own power. (The recognized term in the Scottish Universities.) curriculum…
autohagiography1929–
An autobiography by a (self-styled) saint; (hence chiefly disparaging) an idealized or flattering autobiography; (also) writing of this type as a…
biodata1947–
(plural) biographical details, esp.
Another example of something happening automatically is the autofocus function on a camera, which enables the camera to focus all by it"self."
Now you can be fully autocratic or able to rule by your"self" when it comes to words with the Greek prefix auto- in them!
- autograph: signature written by a person her"self"
- autobiography: life history written by the subject person her"self"
- automobile: car that moves by it"self"
- automotive: car that moves by it"self"
- auto: car that moves by it"self"
- automation: process which moves all by it"self"
- automaton: robot which moves by it"self"
- autonomous: of rule by the “self”
- autopilot: a setting on a plane where the plane flies it"self"
- automatic: of or pertaining to a process doing something by it"self"
- autofocus: a camera function where it focuses it"self"
- autocracy: a system of government where individual “selves” rule with no central authority
Related Rootcasts
Usage
autocratic
An autocratic person rules with complete power; consequently, they make decisions and give orders to people without asking them for their opinion or advice.
tautology
When you employ a tautology, you needlessly and often unintentionally repeat a similar sense of one word when using other words to describe it, such as in the redundant phrases "free gift" or "usual custom."
autonomous
An autonomous person makes their own decisions without being influenced by anyone else; an autonomous country or organization is independent and has the power to govern itself.
autochthonous
Something autochthonous to an area is native or indigenous to it.
autodidact
An autodidact is a person who teaches themself instead of having a teacher or tutor do so.
automatic
Something automatic works by itself without needing a person to do anything.
autobiography
a biography of yourself
autocracy
a political system governed by a single individual
autofocus
an optical device for focussing a camera or other instrument automatically
autograph
mark with one's signature
automate
make automatic or control or operate automatically
automatically
in a reflex manner
automation
the act of implementing the control of equipment with advanced technology
automaton
someone who acts or responds in a mechanical or apathetic way
autonomy
immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence
autopilot
a cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness
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autobiographynoun
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun autobiography.
form1+ biographyn., perhaps after GermanAutobiographie(1756 in Greekcharacters as αὐτοβιογραϕία, subsequently from 1793 or earlier).Compare Frenchautobiographie(1820), which may show a borrowing <…
A recollection or memory of a past fact or experience recounted to others; spec. (usually in plural) a person's collective…
autobiog1829–
autobio1856–
auto1881–
curriculum vitae1902–
A course; spec. a regular course of study or training, as at a school or university.
Dahl, Boy 9
2006
The Cockney beauty's ..has become a surprise hit, debuting at number four in the best-seller lists.
Independent 7 April 46/3
story1533–
With possessive adjective or genitive.
This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. When it comes to making automobiles, the process of automation uses robots or machines to assemble most of the autos rolling down the assembly line, thus getting the work done all by them"selves" with little human intervention.
The Greek prefix auto- means “self.” Good examples using the prefix auto- include automotive and autopilot.
Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation.
Definition
An autobiography is a literary work in which an author recounts their own life story.
Frequency of autobiography, n., 1790–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
For instance, you can set the thermostat in your house to turn on automatically when the temperature gets too cold or too hot. Another word for robot is automaton, or a mechanical device which can fully function by it"self" with minimal human interference. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.