Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Autonomy \Au*ton"o*my\, n. [Gr. ?: cf. F. autonomie. See
   {Autonomous}.]
   1. The power or right of self-government; self-government, or
      political independence, of a city or a state.

   2. (Metaph.) The sovereignty of reason in the sphere of
      morals; or man's power, as possessed of reason, to give
      law to himself. In this, according to Kant, consist the
      true nature and only possible proof of liberty. --Fleming.

Source : WordNet®

autonomy
     n 1: immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political
          independence [syn: {liberty}]
     2: personal independence [syn: {self-direction}, {self-reliance},
         {self-sufficiency}]