Automaton definition
Due to her strict adherence to her daily schedule, Jessica was becoming more and more convinced that she was an automaton.
A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on 'til the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering. - Thomas Jefferson.
An example of an automaton is a car that drives without a human driver.
Origin of automaton
- Latin self-operating machine from Greek from neuter of automatos self-acting automatic
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Ancient Greek αὐτόματον (automaton), neuter of αὐτόματος (automatos, “self moving, self willed”).
From Wiktionary