Origin: Greek suffix -ography
Autobiography has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
a biography of yourself
"She decided to write her own autobiography after retiring from her long career as an architect."
A self-written biography; the story of one's own life.
"The author spent years researching her family history before finally writing her autobiography to share her unique journey with the world."
In plain English: An autobiography is a story that someone writes about their own life from start to finish.
"She wrote an autobiography about her childhood in London."
Usage: An autobiography is specifically written by the person whose life it describes, distinguishing it from a standard biography that covers someone else's experiences. Use this term when referring to first-person accounts where the author narrates their own history directly.
The word autobiography comes from combining Greek roots meaning self and life story to describe a book written by an author about their own life. It entered English as a single term that directly reflects this original construction of parts rather than evolving gradually like many other words.