automata
Use Automata in a sentence
ə noun
a plural of automaton.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun, plural au·tom·a·tons, au·tom·a·ta [aw-tom-uh-tuh] .
[aw-tom-uh-tuh] . 1.
a mechanical figure or contrivance constructed to act as if by its own motive power; robot.
2.
a person or animal that acts in a monotonous, routine manner, without active intelligence.
3.
something capable of acting automatically or without an external motive force.
Origin:
1605–15; < Latin: automatic device < Greek, noun use of neuter of autómatos spontaneous, acting without human agency, equivalent to auto- auto-1 + -matos, adj. derivative from base of memonénai to intend, ménos might, force
1605–15; < Latin: automatic device < Greek, noun use of neuter of autómatos spontaneous, acting without human agency, equivalent to auto- auto-1 + -matos, adj. derivative from base of memonénai to intend, ménos might, force
Related forms
au·tom·a·tous, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To automata
00:10
Automata
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
automaton (ɔːˈtɒməˌtɒn, -tən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -tons, -ta | |
| 1. | a mechanical device operating under its own hidden power; robot |
| 2. | a person who acts mechanically or leads a routine monotonous life |
| [C17: from Latin, from Greek, from automatos spontaneous, self-moving] | |
| au'tomatous | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
automaton
1610s, from L. automaton (Suetonius), from Gk. automaton, neut. of automatos "self-acting," from autos "self" + matos "thinking, animated, willing," from PIE *mn-to-, from base *men- "to think" (see mind (n.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Example sentences
They'd become museum pieces, relics and statues and toys and automata.
The elderly were strange automata of prescriptions and adages, as if they had been replaced by their own fictions.
Not so different basic from many dystopias when humans are turned into automata.
The expressive power of such automata varies depending on the acceptance conditions of the trees.
Matching Quote
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
