'autotomize' originates from Modern English (formed from the noun 'autotomy'), ultimately from Greek 'autotomia', where 'auto-' meant 'self' and 'tomos' (or 'tome') meant 'cut'.

'autotomize' changed from the noun 'autotomy' (from Greek 'autotomia') plus the verb-forming suffix '-ize', and eventually became the modern English verb 'autotomize'.

Initially, it meant 'to perform autotomy (self-amputation or self-detachment of a body part)'; over time it has retained this technical biological meaning.