'autoserum' originates from the combining form 'auto-' from Greek and the Latin word 'serum', where 'auto-' meant 'self' and 'serum' meant 'whey' or 'watery fluid (blood serum)'.

'auto-' comes from Greek 'autos' and has been used in New Latin and modern scientific coinages; 'serum' comes from Latin 'serum' (meaning whey/serum) and was adopted into English in medical contexts. The modern compound 'autoserum' arose in scientific/medical usage to denote self-derived serum.

Initially the components meant 'self' and 'whey/serum'; combined in modern medical usage they specifically mean 'serum derived from the same individual', a meaning that has remained stable in specialist contexts.