'autobiographal' originates from Modern English, ultimately built from the Greek elements 'autos' (self), 'bios' (life) and 'graphein' (to write) via the noun 'autobiography' plus the adjectival suffix '-al'.

'autobiographal' developed as an adjectival form related to 'autobiography'. The sequence runs from Greek 'autos' + 'bios' + 'graphein' to Medieval/Modern Latin and French forms (e.g. 'autobiographia'/'autobiographie'), then into English as 'autobiography' and subsequently adjectival forms such as 'autobiographical' and the variant 'autobiographal'.

Initially the root elements meant 'self' + 'life' + 'to write' (i.e. 'writing about one's own life'); over time this basic sense remained but extended to describe works, passages, or traits that are characteristic of or derived from an author's life—hence the modern adjectival meaning.