automat

Forms

automat m or n (feminine singular automată, masculine plural automați, feminine/neuter plural automate)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French automate.^[2][3][1][4] DELR adds borrowed from New Latin automatus, and the neologism dictionaries also name German Automat and Italian automato.^[4][5][6] Tiktin takes it from Greek or Latin.^[7]

The French word goes back to Ancient Greek αὐτόματος (autómatos, “moving by itself”), formed with αὐτο- (auto-, “self”) on the root of μέμονα (mémona, “to desire”), which DELR traces to Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”).^[4][8] In French it is first an adjective in Rabelais (1532), then a noun from 1611.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1825.^[7] DELR's first record is from 1829, in the newspaper Curierul românesc, for a device worked by a mechanism.^[4] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 defines it as a machine that imitates the movements of living beings, and figuratively a stupid person.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century an automat was mainly a clockwork figure imitating a living being, and figuratively a person without will.^[9][10][11] Later the noun came to mean any device that works without human intervention, and then specially an automatic weapon, a machine-pistol, a vending machine and a stairway light switch.^[3][2][12] The adjective spread with the same technical sense, and is often used as an adverb, “mechanically, without thinking”.^[2][4] Press records of 2007–2008 show the adverb also meaning “necessarily, as a matter of course”.^[13]

DELR dates the family: automatic 1840, automaticește 1881, automatism 1884, automatiza 1904, semiautomat 1949, automatică 1957 and automatist 1968.^[4]

Timeline

• 1825 – first record.^[7]
• 1829 – in Curierul românesc.^[4]
• 1840 – automatic.^[4]
• 1848 – in Negulici, “a machine imitating the movement of living bodies”.^[9]
• 1884 – automatism.^[4]
• 1904 – automatiza “to automate”.^[4]
• 1957 – automatică “automation science”.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. automatic: worked by a mechanical device, or done by one.^[2] Armă automată is an automatic weapon.^[2][4]
2. Done by itself, without reason or will taking part, mechanical: un gest automat “a mechanical gesture”.^[2] Often used as an adverb.^[2][4]

Noun

1. A device, apparatus or machine that does an operation without direct human intervention.^[2][3] Automat de scară is a timer switch for the lights of a stairway.^[2]
2. A vending machine.^[3][1]
3. An automaton, a machine that imitates the movements of living beings.^[5][1]
4. (figurative) A person without will or initiative, who does everything mechanically.^[2]

Word family

• automatic
• automatică
• automaticește
• automatism
• automatist
• automatiza
• semiautomat
• semiautomatic

Related words

• French automate

Usage notes

The word is pronounced with a hiatus, a-u-, not a diphthong.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 77
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 138
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. automat
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
6. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional
7. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. automat
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
10. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci
11. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. automat
12. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
13. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. automat