automatic English · revision 5699

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1748|origins=grc automatos}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/, US /ˌɑː.t̬əˈmæt̬.ɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed in English, [[der|grc|αὐτόματος|tr=autómatos|t=acting of one's own will, self-acting]] and [[-ic]] (see [[automaton]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|grc|αὐτός|tr=autós|t=self]] and -matos “thinking, animated”,^(Etymonline) from PIE [[ine-pro|*men-|t=to think]].^(Etymonline) In Greek autómatos was used of the self-opening gates of Olympus and of Hephaestus's tripods.^(Etymonline) The earlier forms were automatical (1580s) and automatous (1640s).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of bodily actions, involuntary, like the motions of an automaton: 1748, first used by the physician and philosopher David Hartley, according to Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The AHD notes that it was first applied to motions such as those of the intestines.^(AHD) MWU gives 1586 for its first use.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Merely mechanical, without active intelligence, is from 1843.^(OED 1989) Self-acting, moving or acting on its own, is from 1812,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and of a firearm that loads and fires continuously from 1877.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) The automatic telephone exchange is from 1879,^(OED 1989) and machinery that imitates human action from 1940.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The noun, an automatic pistol, is from 1902, a machine operated automatically from 1909,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and a vehicle with automatic transmission from 1949.^(Etymonline) The AHD notes that the word's link with machinery reflects how people came to see the world in mechanical terms.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1580s – ''automatical''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1748 – involuntary, of bodily motions.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1812 – self-acting.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1877 – of firearms.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1902 – the noun, an automatic pistol.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1949 – a car with automatic transmission.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a [[machine]] or device, working by itself with little or no human control.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Done without thinking, from habit or [[reflex]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Happening as a necessary result: ''an automatic penalty''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a [[firearm]], firing continuously while the trigger is pressed.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An automatic firearm.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A vehicle with automatic [[transmission]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[automatically]]

+ * [[automaticity]]

+ * [[Instamatic]]

+ * [[laundromat]]

+ * [[nonautomatic]]

+ * [[automatic pilot]]

+ * [[automatic transmission]]

+ * [[automatic rifle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[automat]]

+ * [[automation]]

+ * [[automatization]]

+ * [[automatize]]

+ * [[automaton]]

+ * [[automobile]]

+ * [[autopilot]]

+ * [[auto-]]

+ * [[autonomous]]

+ * [[mind]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}