automaton

[aw-tom-uh-ton, -tn]

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noun, plural au·tom·a·tons, au·tom·a·ta [aw-tom-uh-tuh] /ɔˈtɒm ə tə/.

a mechanical figure or contrivance constructed to act as if by its own motive power; robot.

a person or animal that acts in a monotonous, routine manner, without active intelligence.

something capable of acting automatically or without an external motive force.

Origin of automaton

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 formsau·tom·a·tous, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for automaton

engine, apparatus, automobile, tool, appliance, instrument, motor, vehicle, gadget, contraption, widget, robot, mechanism, computer, contrivance, implement, thingamabob, laborer, clone, agent

Examples from the Web for automaton

Contemporary Examples of automaton

“It was no brute whom Smiley was pursuing with such mastery, no unqualified fanatic after all, no automaton,” le Carré writes.
Iran’s Top Spy Is the Modern-Day Karla, John Le Carré’s Villainous Mastermind
Michael Weiss
July 2, 2014
Despite how he might come across in the history books, he wasn't some bland, rule-following "high-integrity" automaton.
Wes Clark on Washington
General Wesley K. Clark
October 14, 2010
But it did suggest that Rubio was more than a Reaganite automaton.
Charlie Crist's Secret
Reihan Salam
May 13, 2009

Historical Examples of automaton

As to the automaton, Mrs. Beaufort, Robert made sure of her discretion.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Like an automaton he turned again and paced to the hall door.
The Street That Wasn't There
Clifford Donald Simak
I was an automaton turning a crank in the frozen stillness of the long, long night.
The Trail of '98
Robert W. Service
You take orders like an automaton, and you go execute them like an automaton.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
Like an automaton the man stepped forward, and after him paced the white horse.
Riders of the Silences
John Frederick

British Dictionary definitions for automaton

automaton

noun plural -tons or -ta (-tə)

a mechanical device operating under its own hidden power; robot

a person who acts mechanically or leads a routine monotonous life

Derived Formsautomatous, adjective

Word Origin for automaton

C17: from Latin, from Greek, from automatos spontaneous, self-moving

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for automaton

1610s, from Latin automaton (Suetonius), from Greek automaton, neuter of automatos "self-acting," from autos "self" (see auto-) + matos "thinking, animated, willing," from PIE *mn-to-, from root *men- "to think" (see mind (n.)).