'autecy' originates from Modern Latin/Neo-Latin formation related to 'autecia', ultimately built from Greek elements 'autos' meaning 'self' and 'oikos' meaning 'house' (the latter via the element used in 'ecology').

'autecy' developed as a technical shorthand in English from the longer term 'autecology' (coined in the 19th century from Greek 'autos' + 'oikos' + '-logy'), with 'autecy' used in some ecological literature as an equivalent noun.

Initially it meant 'the study of an individual organism or species in relation to its environment', and this core meaning has largely been retained in modern usage.