'autoregulatory' originates from Modern English, composed from the Greek element 'auto-' (from Greek 'autos' meaning 'self') and the English adjective 'regulatory' (ultimately from Latin roots such as 'regula'/'regulare' meaning 'rule' or 'make straight').

'autoregulatory' developed from the noun 'autoregulation' (formed in scientific usage in the 19th–20th century) by adding the adjectival suffix '-ary' to create 'autoregulatory'.

Initially formed to mean 'having the quality of autoregulation' or simply 'self-regulating'; over time it has been used more specifically in technical contexts (biology, physiology, engineering) to describe mechanisms that maintain stability via internal feedback.