Autopsy
/ˈɔː.tɒp.si/noun
A postmortem examination of a body to determine the cause of death.
Did you know?The word comes from Greek autopsia, and the same root aut- also gave us words like auto, autograph, and automatic — all built around the idea of the self acting, seeing, or writing.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
autopsia
“personal observation; seeing with one’s own eyes”
Late Greek
Greek
autopsēs
“one who has seen for oneself; eyewitness”
16th Century
English
autopsie
“personal inspection; direct observation”
17th Century
English
autopsy
“an examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death”
Modern English
English
autopsy
“postmortem examination”
Explore more surprising origins