Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA self-written biography; the story of one's own life.
nounBiographies of this kind regarded as a literary genre.
Sentence Examples
In his autobiography, he repeatedly refers to his unhappy school days.
His autobiography was released today and was sold out by noon.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The famous chef wrote an ____ about her remarkable life story.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She decided to write her ____ to share her various life experiences.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.?
Proto-Indo-European *sóder.?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.
Ancient Greek αὖ (aû)
Ancient Greek τόν (tón)?
Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós)
Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-)lbor.
English auto-
Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-der.
Ancient Greek βίος (bíos)
Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-
Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō
Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω (grắphō)
Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā)
Ancient Greek -η (-ē)
Ancient Greek γραφή (graphḗ)
Ancient Greek -γραφία (-graphía)
Ancient Greek βιογραφίᾱ (biographíā)der.
New Latin biographiabor.
English biography
English autobiography
From auto- + biography.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Autobiography […] inevitably consists mainly of extinctions of the truth, shirkings of the truth, partial revealments of the truth, with hardly an instance of plain straight truth […]"
— 1904, Mark Twain, “To W. D. Howells, in New York: Villa di Quarto, Florence, March 14, ’04”, in Albert Bigelow Paine, editor, Mark Twain's Letters, volume 2, published 1917, page 751:
"Here I was interrupted, as I'm so often interrupted when giving my views on the Yeoman's Wedding Song, by her saying that she was dying to hear all about it but would rather wait till she could get it in my autobiography."
— 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XI: