auto
ˈɔːtoʊ
An automatic door and a disease that attacks its own body
The picture No hand is pushing from outside, yet the thing starts moving under its own power. Only who is doing it for themselves changes. auto is doing it yourself; tele is reaching all the way to somewhere far.
Where the picture shows up in auto
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A machine acting by itself
The door is automatic; just stand in front of it.
ðə dɔːr ɪz ˌɔːtəˈmætɪk dʒʌst stænd ɪn frʌnt əv ɪt
The door is automatic; just stand in front of it.
Nobody touches the handle, yet the door splits apart on its own.
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A name in the person's own hand
A fan asked the player for an autograph.
ə fæn æskt ðə ˈpleɪər fɔːr ən ˈɔːtəɡræf
A fan asked the player for an autograph.
Not an assistant but the player himself scratching his name onto the ball.
auto(self) + graph(write) = written by the person's own hand.
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Deciding its own moves
The new forklift is autonomous.
ðə nuː ˈfɔːrklɪft ɪz ɔːˈtɑːnəməs
The new forklift is autonomous.
The driver's seat is empty and the forklift still turns the corner by itself.
nom means rule — it runs by its own rules.
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The body turning on itself
The doctor said it is an autoimmune disease.
ðə ˈdɑːktər sed ɪt ɪz ən ˌɔːtoʊɪˈmjuːn dɪˈziːz
The doctor said it is an autoimmune disease.
No enemy came in from outside, yet the guards turn around and attack their own side.
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Your own life in your own hand
He is writing his autobiography.
hiː ɪz ˈraɪtɪŋ hɪz ˌɔːtoʊbaɪˈɑːɡrəfi
He is writing his autobiography.
Not someone writing down what they heard, but the person himself putting his own life on the page.
auto + bio(life) + graph(write) = a life written by the one who lived it.
All of it in one picture
auto just says 'by itself'. A door that opens by itself is automatic; a name written by the person's own hand is an autograph; a machine that finds its own way is autonomous. Defences that turn on their own body make it autoimmune, a life written by the one who lived it is an autobiography. So when auto appears, read it as nobody else doing it — the thing itself.