'autogamize' originates from Greek/Latin roots via the noun 'autogamy', specifically from Greek 'autogamia' (αὐτογαμία), where 'autos' meant 'self' and 'gamos' meant 'marriage' or 'union'. The verb-forming suffix '-ize' (from Greek/Latin formation) was added to create a verb meaning 'to make or undergo autogamy'.

'autogamize' was formed from the noun 'autogamy' (from Greek 'autogamia' → Late Latin/Medieval Latin 'autogamia'), with the productive English verb suffix '-ize' appended to create the verb in modern scientific usage.

Initially the roots described 'self-marriage' or 'self-union' in a literal sense; over time the term came to be used biologically to mean 'self-fertilization' or 'self-pollination', and the verb form now denotes undergoing or causing that process.