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autoethnography

UK/ˌɔːtəʊ.ɛθˈnɒɡɹəfi/US/ˌɔtoʊ.ɛθˈnɑɡɹəfi/

noun

An ethnographic study drawing on one's own anecdotal or personal experience, or an approach to conducting research in which anecdotal or personal experience is foregrounded.

“The aborigine's autobiography was also an autoethnography. It told much about the culture he grew up in.”

OriginEnglish ethnography ← Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-) ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew →

Scrabble 27

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Meanings

nounautoethnography (countable and uncountable, plural autoethnographies)

plural autoethnographies

countableuncountableAn ethnographic study drawing on one's own anecdotal or personal experience, or an approach to conducting research in which anecdotal or personal experience is foregrounded.
The aborigine's autobiography was also an autoethnography. It told much about the culture he grew up in.

Origin

Proto-Hellenic*autós
Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew
Ancient Greekαὖ (aû)
Ancient Greekτόν (tón)
Ancient Greekαὐτός (autós)
Ancient Greekαὐτο- (auto-)
Englishauto-
Englishethnography
Englishautoethnography

From auto- + ethnography.

Full word history & related roots →

Cite this entry

APA

autoethnography. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autoethnography

MLA

“autoethnography.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autoethnography. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autoethnography,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autoethnography.

Source: autoethnography on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.