autós

According to Beekes from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew (“again”) + *to- (“that”). Risch derives it from the Ancient Greek reflexes of those words, αὖ (aû, “back, again, other”) +‎ τόν (tón, “the”). Related to Phrygian αυτος(autos), thus probably representing a common innovation.

Pronunciation

[ more ▼] 

• IPA^(key): /au̯.tós/ → /aɸˈtos/ → /afˈtos/

Audio (Classical Attic): αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Duration: 4 seconds.0:04

Pronoun

αὐτός • (autós) (feminine αὐτή, neuter αὐτό); first/second declension

1. (without article) self
   1. (in nominative, emphasizing the subject)
   2. (reflexive pronoun, in oblique cases) himself, herself, itself, themselves
   3. (in philosophy, of an abstract idea) by or in itself
2. (without article, in oblique cases, 3rd person personal pronoun) he, she, it, they
3. (with definite article) same

Usage notes

The intended sense of αὐτός is generally defined by its grammatical context. When used as a lone nominal without an article, it is generally the third person personal pronoun. When appended to a nominal and not possessing the definite article it is "self". When combined with the definite article, either appended to a nominal or on its own, it is "same".

The neuter plural ταὐτά (tautá, “the same things”) (derived from τὰ αὐτά by crasis) is distinguished from ταῦτα (taûta) "these things" by the accent placement. The two sometimes occur together:

386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 85e:

οὗτος γὰρ ποιήσει περὶ πάσης γεωμετρίας ταὐτὰ ταῦτα, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων μαθημάτων ἁπάντων

hoûtos gàr poiḗsei perì pásēs geōmetrías tautà taûta, kaì tôn állōn mathēmátōn hapántōn

For he will do the same as this with all geometry and every other branch of knowledge.