'autocremation' originates from Greek and Latin elements: the prefix 'auto-' from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self', combined with 'cremation', from Latin 'cremare' meaning 'to burn'.

'autocremation' is a modern English coinage formed by combining the Greek-derived prefix 'auto-' with the existing English noun 'cremation' (itself from Latin). The compound appears in modern usage rather than as a single inherited word from earlier English periods.

Initially the roots meant 'self' and 'to burn'; as a compound, the term has the straightforward modern meaning of 'self-burning' or 'self-directed cremation' and has not undergone a large semantic shift.