'autotomise' originates from modern English formation based on the noun 'autotomy', which itself comes from Greek 'autotomía', where 'auto-' meant 'self' and 'temnein' meant 'to cut'.

'autotomise' was formed in English by adding the verb-forming suffix '-ise'/'-ize' to 'autotomy' (from Greek 'autotomía'); 'autotomy' came into scientific Latin/Neo-Latin from Greek 'autotomía' and then entered English as a technical biological term.

Initially, the Greek-derived term referred generally to 'self-cutting' or 'self-incision'; over time in biological contexts it came to mean specifically 'the deliberate shedding or discarding of a body part' and the verb form now denotes performing or having performed that action.