'autacoid' originates from New Latin/modern scientific coinage, ultimately formed from Greek elements: 'auto-' and 'akos', where 'auto-' meant 'self' and 'akos' meant 'remedy' (with the suffix '-oid' meaning 'resembling').

'autacoid' was coined in early 20th-century medical/scientific English (from New Latin/modern coinages based on Greek elements) to denote substances that act locally; it entered technical usage in physiology and pharmacology as 'autacoid'.

Initially, it meant 'a substance acting near its site of formation; a local-acting mediator', and this specialized sense has been retained in modern medical usage to refer to locally acting biologically active agents.