automaton Hear it!

automaton definition

au·toma·ton (ô tämə tän′, -tən)

noun pl. automatons -·tons′ or automata -·ta (-tə)

  1. anything that can move or act of itself
  2. an apparatus that automatically performs certain actions by responding to preset controls or encoded instructions
  3. an electronic machine, control device, etc. equipped with a computer and designed to operate automatically in response to instructions previously fed into the computer
  4. a person or animal acting in an automatic or mechanical way

Etymology: L < Gr, neut. of automatos: see automatic

Comments


Do you have more to add? Sign in to share your linguistic knowledge or observation.

Connect with Facebook