'autogenesis' originates from Greek, specifically the elements 'auto-' and 'genesis', where 'auto-' meant 'self' and 'genesis' meant 'birth' or 'origin'.

'autogenesis' entered scientific and philosophical English via New Latin/Modern scientific coinage (from Greek elements) in the 18th–19th century and became used in biology and philosophy as the term for self-originating processes.

Initially, it meant 'self-generation' in a literal biological or philosophical sense; over time it retained this core meaning but broadened to refer to self-originating processes in other contexts (e.g., developmental, chemical, conceptual).