'autem' originates from Latin, specifically from the particle 'aut' combined with the enclitic '-em', where 'aut' originally meant 'or' and '-em' functioned as a postpositive/emphatic particle.

'autem' appears in Classical Latin texts as a common postpositive particle; it continued in Medieval Latin and has been retained in scholarly and ecclesiastical Latin usage into the modern period.

Initially used as a general connective with senses around 'moreover' or 'and/on the other hand'; over time its usage concentrated on adversative/discourse functions commonly rendered as 'however' or 'but' in modern translations.