'autocoherer' originates from the English combining form 'auto-' and the noun 'coherer', where 'auto-' comes from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self' and 'coherer' ultimately traces to Latin 'cohaerēre' meaning 'to stick together'.

'coherer' was adopted in late 19th-century English to name a radio detector (from French/Latin roots), and 'autocoherer' was formed in the early wireless-telegraphy era by adding the prefix 'auto-' to denote a self-restoring version of that device.

Initially, the root elements referred generally to 'self' and 'sticking/coming together', but in technological usage the term came to mean a specific type of radio signal detector; 'autocoherer' specifically came to mean a coherer that automatically restores itself after detection.