autologies

Noun

autology (countable and uncountable, plural autologies)

1. (literary, uncommon) The study of oneself.
   • If only the discoverer of autology (self-knowledge) had said, "Let all drugs alone, even Detoxyl, eat simple, nutritious food, sleep and play and work in the open air, and don't worry — then acids and poisons will not accumulate in your system, you will have a high vitality and resisting power...1914, Good Housekeeping Magazine - Volume 58, page 544
2. The property of a word or phrase which describes itself.
   • The words multisyllabic and sesquipedalian display autology: multisyllabic is a multisyllabic word, and sesquipedalian is a sesquipedalian word.

   Antonyms:

   heterology

3. (broadly) The ability of a concept to apply to itself.
   • Within systems theory, autology provides the solution to this problem of self-reference. Through the concept of autology, systems theory can describe itself as a form of self-description describing itself.2003, Niels Åkerstrøm Andersen, Discursive Analytical Strategies, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   self-referentiality, self-reference