Autonomy
Autonomy is the condition of something that does not depend on anything else.
[This is a stub article. Examples and other discussion should be added.]
In Eastern Christianity, autonomy is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop is appointed by a higher-ranking bishop, often a patriarch, who has no other authority over the autonomous church. Contrast this with autocephaly.
In computing, the peripheral that can be used with the computer turned off (like multifunctionals, to copy and fax), is autonomous.
In politics, a self-governing city or region, e.g. Kurdistan, Kosovo, Quebec, (not necessarily as a result of formal secession), is autonomous. True autonomy is usually a pre-requisite to separation or secession, however.