'autotrophically' originates from Greek (via New Latin/modern scientific coinage), specifically the elements 'autós' meaning 'self' and 'trophḗ' meaning 'nourishment', combined into the stem 'autotroph-' and then formed into the adjective 'autotrophic' plus the adverbial suffix '-ally'.

'autotrophically' changed from the adjective 'autotrophic' (formed in scientific usage from New Latin/modern coinage 'autotrophus' in the 19th century), which itself derives from Greek 'autotrophēs' ('auto-' + 'trophḗ'); the adverb was produced by adding the English adverbial ending '-ally' to the adjective.

Initially it referred to the concept 'self-nourishing' or 'capable of producing one's own food'; over time this specific biological meaning has been retained and is now used to describe organisms or processes that synthesize organic material from inorganic sources.