autonomy
noun
[ ɔːˈtɒnəmi ]
• the right or condition of self-government.
• "between the First and Second World Wars, Canada gained greater autonomy from Britain"
• (in Kantian moral philosophy) the capacity of an agent to act in accordance with objective morality rather than under the influence of desires.
Origin:
early 17th century: from Greek autonomia, from autonomos ‘having its own laws’, from autos ‘self’ + nomos ‘law’.
