'autecious' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'autoecius', where 'autos' meant 'self' and 'oikos' meant 'house' (host).

'autecious' derived from the New Latin formation 'autoecius' (from Greek elements) and was adopted into English in scientific usage to describe organisms completing their life cycles on a single host.

Initially, the components conveyed the idea of a 'self-house' or 'single house'; over time this developed into the biological sense 'completing a life cycle on one host'.