Definition of AUTONOMY

autonomy

Meanings

Plural: autonomies

Noun

  • immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence
  • personal independence
  • The right or condition of self-government; freedom to act or function independently.
  • A self-governing country or region.
  • The capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision.
  • The capacity of a system to make a decision about its actions without the involvement of another system or operator.
  • The status of a church whose highest-ranking bishop is appointed by the patriarch of the mother church, but which is self-governing in all other respects. Compare autocephaly.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek αὐτονομῐ́ᾱ (autonomĭ́ā, “freedom to use its own laws, independence”), from αὐτόνομος (autónomos, “living under one's own laws, independent”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, “-y, -ia”, nominal suffix). By surface analysis, auto- (“self”) + -nomy (“a system of rules or laws about a particular field”).

Synonyms

liberty, self-direction, self-reliance, self-sufficiency

Scrabble Score: 13

autonomy is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
autonomy is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
autonomy is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

autonomy is a valid Words With Friends word