'autocatalyze' originates from a modern English coinage combining the Greek prefix 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos'), where 'autos' meant 'self', and the verb 'catalyze' (ultimately from Greek 'katalysis'/'katalyein'), where the Greek elements relate to 'kata-' and 'luo'/'luein'.

'catalyze' entered English in the 19th century from 'catalysis' (from Late Greek/Medieval Latin forms of Greek 'katalysis'); the verb 'catalyze' was formed in English, and later the compound 'autocatalyze' was formed by adding the prefix 'auto-'.

Initially the Greek root referred to 'loosening' or 'dissolution', but over time in chemistry it evolved to mean 'to accelerate or bring about a chemical reaction'; 'autocatalyze' specifically came to mean 'to catalyze a reaction by a product of that same reaction'.