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definitions

cybernetics

[sahy-ber-net-iks]
noun (used with a singular verb)
  1. the study of human control functions and of mechanical and electronic systems designed to replace them, involving the application of statistical mechanics to communication engineering.

Origin of cybernetics

< Greek kybernḗt(ēs) helmsman, steersman (kybernē-, variant stem of kybernân to steer + -tēs agent suffix) + -ics; term introduced by Norbert Wiener in 1948
Related formscy·ber·net·ic, cy·ber·net·i·cal, adjectivecy·ber·net·i·cal·ly, adverbcy·ber·net·i·cist, cy·ber·ne·ti·cian [sahy-ber-ni-tish-uh n] /ˌsaɪ bər nɪˈtɪʃ ən/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cybernetic

Contemporary Examples of cybernetic

Historical Examples of cybernetic

  • It might easily increase the reliance of Earthfolk upon their cybernetic monsters.

    The Ambassador

    Samuel Kimball Merwin

  • Isn't that the created thing which the cybernetic system tries to follow?

    Human Error

    Raymond F. Jones

  • There was a lot of cybernetic and robotic equipment, and astrogational equipment, that had to be made from scratch.

    The Cosmic Computer

    Henry Beam Piper

  • It's equipped with what you might call a cybernetic brain—although that's pretty inadequate as a description.

    Pagan Passions

    Gordon Randall Garrett

  • If cybernetic remotes functioned operationally at this distance we wouldn't have to send men at all.

    Measure for a Loner

    James Judson Harmon

British Dictionary definitions for cybernetic

cybernetics

noun
  1. (functioning as singular) the branch of science concerned with control systems in electronic and mechanical devices and the extent to which useful comparisons can be made between man-made and biological systemsSee also feedback (def. 1)
Derived Formscybernetic, adjectivecyberneticist, noun

Word Origin for cybernetics

C20: from Greek kubernētēs steersman, from kubernan to steer, control
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 cybernetic
adj.

1951, back-formation from cybernetics. Greek kybernetikos meant "good at steering."

cybernetics

n.

coined 1948 by U.S. mathematician Norbert Wiener (1894-1964) from Greek kybernetes "steersman" (metaphorically "guide, governor") + -ics; perhaps based on 1830s French cybernétique "the art of governing."

The future offers very little hope for those who expect that our new mechanical slaves will offer us a world in which we may rest from thinking. Help us they may, but at the cost of supreme demands upon our honesty and our intelligence. [Norbert Weiner, "God and Golem, Inc.," 1964]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cybernetic in Medicine

cybernetics

[sī′bər-nĕt′ĭks]
n.
  1. The theoretical study of communication and control processes in biological, mechanical, and electronic systems, especially the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
cybernetic in Science

cybernetics

[sī′bər-nĕt′ĭks]
  1. The scientific study of communication and control processes in biological, mechanical, and electronic systems. Research in cybernetics often involves the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cybernetic in Culture

cybernetics

[(seye-buhr-net-iks)]

The general study of control and communication systems in living organisms and machines, especially the mathematical analysis of the flow of information. The term cybernetics was coined by Norbert Wiener, an American mathematician of the twentieth century.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.