au ‧ ton ‧ o ‧ mous /ɔːˈtɒnəməs $ ɒːˈtɑː-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Language: Greek ; Origin: autonomos 'independent' , from auto- ( ⇨ ↑ auto- ) + nomos 'law' ]
1 . an autonomous place or organization is free to govern or control itself SYN independent
an autonomous region/state/republic etc
Galicia is an autonomous region of Spain.
2 . formal having the ability to work and make decisions by yourself without any help from anyone else SYN independent
—autonomously adverb