'automanipulative' originates from the Greek prefix 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos', meaning 'self') combined with 'manipulative', ultimately from Latin 'manipulus' (a 'handful') via Late Latin/Medieval Latin into English 'manipulate'.

'automanipulative' is a modern English coinage formed by attaching the Greek-derived prefix 'auto-' to the existing English adjective 'manipulative' (itself from Latin 'manipulus' → Medieval/Modern Latin 'manipulare' → English 'manipulate').

Initially the elements meant 'self' and 'hand/handling'; the compound came to denote 'handling/manipulating oneself' and has taken on a chiefly negative sense of self-deception or strategic self-control.