automatic
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L316574 on Wikidata ↗adjective
- working with little or no direct control needed
- happening without thought or intention
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ / [ˌɔː.ɾəˈmæɾ.ɪk] / /ˌɑː.təˈmæt.ɪk/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.? Proto-Indo-European *sóder.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder. Ancient Greek αὖ (aû) Ancient Greek τόν (tón)? Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós) Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-) Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *mn̥tós Proto-Hellenic *mətós Ancient Greek αὐτόμᾰτος (autómătos) Ancient Greek αὐτόμᾰτον (autómăton)der. Classical Latin automatum New Latin automaticusbor. English automatic Borrowed from New Latin automaticus, from Classical Latin automatum (“automaton”) + -icus (adjectival suffix), from Ancient Greek αὐτόματον (autómaton), neuter of αὐτόματος (autómatos, “self-moving, moving of oneself, self-acting, spontaneous”), from αὐτός (autós, “self, myself”) + μέμαα (mémaa, “to wish eagerly, strive, yearn, desire”). The original pronunciation, apparently with stress on the second syllable, was after the ultimate Greek base.
- Capable of operating without external control or intervention.
“The automatic clothes washer was a great labor-saving device.”
“"But you know of the automatic card-player?" […] Carrados had heard more than once casual allusions to a wonderful mechanical contrivance that played cards with discrimination.”
- Done out of habit or without conscious thought.
“The reaction was automatic: flight!”
“Absent-minded doodling is a form of automatic art.”
- Necessary, inevitable, prescribed by logic, law, etc.
“Spitting at another player means an automatic red card.”
- Firing continuously as long as the trigger is pressed until ammunition is exhausted.
“Fully automatic weapons cannot be legally owned by private citizens in the US, except in very special circumstances, as by private security companies.”
- An autoloader; a semi-automatic or self-loading pistol, as opposed to a revolver or other manually actuated handgun, which fires one shot per pull of the trigger; distinct from machine guns.
“The US Army adopted John Browning's M1911 pistol as its sidearm, chambered in .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol).”
“From a little hand-bag he extracted his automatic pistol, which he put upon the mantelpiece.”
- Automatically added to and removed from the stack during the course of function calls.
“Automatic variables are created on the stack. They are valid only from the point where they are declared to the end of the function.”
- Having one or more finite-state automata.
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.? Proto-Indo-European *sóder.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder. Ancient Greek αὖ (aû) Ancient Greek τόν (tón)? Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós) Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-) Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *mn̥tós Proto-Hellenic *mətós Ancient Greek αὐτόμᾰτος (autómătos) Ancient Greek αὐτόμᾰτον (autómăton)der. Classical Latin automatum New Latin automaticusbor. English automatic Borrowed from New Latin automaticus, from Classical Latin automatum (“automaton”) + -icus (adjectival suffix), from Ancient Greek αὐτόματον (autómaton), neuter of αὐτόματος (autómatos, “self-moving, moving of oneself, self-acting, spontaneous”), from αὐτός (autós, “self, myself”) + μέμαα (mémaa, “to wish eagerly, strive, yearn, desire”). The original pronunciation, apparently with stress on the second syllable, was after the ultimate Greek base.
- A car with an automatic transmission; the transmission itself.
“I never learned to drive a stick. I can only drive an automatic.”
- A semi-automatic pistol.
“The G-men raiding the speakeasy were equipped with .45 automatics, while the local policemen were carrying revolvers and shotguns.”
“"I told him that if my automatic was not a spook-stopper, nothin' else would serve."”