'autocatalytically' derives from the adjective 'autocatalytic,' itself formed from the noun 'autocatalysis' plus the adverbial suffix '-ally'. 'auto-' comes from Greek 'autós' meaning 'self', and 'catalysis' comes from Greek 'katalusis' (from 'katalyein') meaning 'loosening' or 'dissolution' in the sense of causing a chemical change.

'autocatalysis' was coined in modern chemical literature (19th–20th century) from Greek roots; it produced the adjective 'autocatalytic' and later the adverb 'autocatalytically' via standard English suffixation ('-ic' → '-ically').

Initially the Greek roots referred to 'self' and 'loosening' (chemical breakdown or change); over time the compound came to mean a process in which a product accelerates its own production, and the adverb now denotes that manner.