'autocycle' is a modern English compound formed from the combining form 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self') and 'cycle' (from Greek 'kyklos' meaning 'wheel').

'cycle' entered English via Latin/Old French from Greek 'kyklos' ('circle, wheel'), and 'auto-' comes from Greek 'autos' ('self'); these elements were combined in English in the 19th–20th century automotive era to form compounds like 'autocycle'.

The compound originally simply signified a 'self (auto) wheel (cycle)' — i.e., a self-propelled wheeled vehicle — and over time has come to denote a specific type of three-wheeled motor vehicle with car-like controls.