machinery English · revision 10486

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1687|origins=en machine}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /məˈʃiːnəɹi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from [[machine]] with the suffix [[-ery]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) Middle English had machinament, a contrivance (early 15th century).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the theatre, devices for creating stage effects, and in literature the supernatural agents and contrivances of a poem: 1687, the 1680s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Greek mēkhanē also had the theatrical sense.^(Etymonline) Machines or the parts of a machine taken collectively are attested from 1731,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and figuratively any complex system of means to carry on a work, as ''the machinery of government'', by 1770.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 15th century – machinament.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1687 – stage or literary devices.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1731 – machines collectively.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1770 – a system (figurative).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Machines or machine parts considered collectively.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The working parts of a particular machine.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A system or organization by which something is done: ''the machinery of government''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Literary devices used for effect, as in epic poetry.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antimachinery]]

+ * [[turbomachinery]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[machinist]]

+ * [[machine]]

+ * [[mechanism]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}