Autonomia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition or quality of self-governance or independence; a political or personal state where an entity controls its own affairs without external control; a principle advocating for individual or regional self-rule
2. The state of having control over one's own decisions and actions; a system in which a body or territory operates free from outside influence; a doctrine supporting decentralized authority and personal freedom
3. The capacity to direct oneself and manage one's own affairs independently; a governance structure allowing a community or region to make its own laws and policies; an ideology emphasizing self-determination and freedom from external interference

Etymology: "Autonomia" is the Italian and Latin-based form of a word English took as "autonomy," and its roots are Greek. The Greek "autonomos" combined "autos," meaning "self," with "nomos," meaning "law" or "custom," so the original sense was roughly "living under one's own law." The ancient Greeks used it of cities that governed themselves by their own laws rather than under a foreign power, and the idea of self-rule was the core of the word from the start. The Latin "autonomia" was adopted in the Renaissance and carried the political sense forward. Its meaning of control over oneself, the personal sense this request asks about, grew out of that political root, since a person who governs their own choices is treated as a self-governing unit, much as a city was. Italian kept the form "autonomia" for regional self-government, and the Italian and English word now carries both the personal and political senses.

Synonyms: self-government, autonomy, independence, self-rule, sovereignty

Antonyms: dependence, subjection, colonization