the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.
2.
a mechanical device, operated electronically, that functions automatically, without continuous input from an operator.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
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.
1948, in the manufacturing sense, coined by Ford Motor Co. Vice President Delmar S. Harder, from automatic + -tion. Earlier (1838) was automatism, which meant "quality of being automatic" in the classical sense.
Automatic, as opposed to human, operation or control of a process, equipment or a system; or the techniques and equipment used to achieve this. Most often applied to computer (or at least electronic) control of a manufacturing process. See also design automation, office automation, manularity, Manufacturing Automation Protocol, PEARL, QBE. (1994-10-21)