The Greek adverb autothi means "there" or "in that very place" — a pointing word that fixes attention on a specific location. It appears only once in the New Testament (Acts 18:19), indicating a specific location in Ephesus where Paul briefly reasoned in the synagogue before continuing to Jerusalem.
The brevity of autothi's appearance in Acts 18:19 is characteristic of Luke's precision: "they arrived at Ephesus, and he left them there." Paul's brief stop in Ephesus was the seed of a ministry that would later produce one of the New Testament's most profound epistles. Sometimes the most significant moments in God's story are described with a single locating word. Where God places us — autothi, right there — is exactly where the work begins.