'autodial' originates from a combination of elements: the prefix 'auto-' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'autos', where 'autos' meant 'self', and 'dial' originates from English, specifically the noun 'dial' (ultimately from Latin), where 'dial' referred to a disk or face (later used for telephone dials).

'dial' changed from Latin word 'dialis' (relating to a day's disk/face) into Old English/medieval forms for a disk or clock face and later developed into the modern English word 'dial'; in the 20th century the modern compound 'autodial' was coined by combining 'auto-' and 'dial' to mean 'to dial automatically', and 'autodialled' is the past form of that coinage.

Initially 'dial' referred to a disk or clock face; over time it came to mean the rotating or numbered disk used on telephones, and 'autodial' evolved to mean 'to dial automatically' (the core meaning has become technical and specific to telephone/computer systems).