'autoindex' originates from English, combining the prefix 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self') and the word 'index' (from Latin 'index' meaning 'one who points out; an indication').

'auto-' entered English as a combining form from Greek 'autos' in the 19th century; 'index' comes from Latin 'index' which passed into Old French and Middle English as 'index'/'ende', and the compound 'autoindex' arose in computing usage in the late 20th century to name an automatic index or directory-listing feature.

Initially the parts meant 'self' and 'indicator'; in modern technical usage the compound evolved to mean 'an index or listing produced automatically by software (especially a web server)'.