Standard Lemma guide

autopoiesis

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌɔːtəʊpɔɪˈiːsɪs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Self-creation; self-organization.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: mathematics, sciences, systems-theory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined in 1972 by Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, from auto- + -poiesis. (see also Ancient Greek αὐτόποιος (autópoios, “self-produced”)).

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: autopoieesi — self-creation
  • Finnish: itseuudistuminen — self-creation
  • French: autopoïèse — self-creation
  • German: Autopoiesis — self-creation
  • Italian: autopoiesi — self-creation
  • Occitan: autopoiesi — self-creation
  • Polish: system autopoietyczny — self-creation
  • Portuguese: autopoiese — self-creation
  • Spanish: autopoiesis — self-creation