'automower' originates from modern English, specifically a compound of the prefix 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self') and 'mower' (from the verb 'mow', meaning 'to cut grass').

'mower' traces back to Old English 'māwan' (to mow), which became Middle English 'mowen' and later the agent noun 'mower'; 'auto-' comes from Greek 'autos' via modern English compounding to form 'automower'.

Initially the elements meant 'self' + 'one who/that mows'; over time the compound came to refer specifically to an autonomous (robotic) machine that mows lawns and, in some contexts, a specific branded product.