Automatical

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Automatic \Au`to*mat"ic\, Automatical \Au`to*mat"ic*al\, a. [Cf.
     F. automatique. See {Automaton}.]
     1. Having an inherent power of action or motion.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Nothing can be said to be automatic.  --Sir H. Davy.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Pertaining to, or produced by, an automaton; of the nature
        of an automaton; self-acting or self-regulating under
        fixed conditions; operating with minimal human
        intervention; -- esp. applied to machinery or devices in
        which certain things formerly or usually done by hand are
        done by the machine or device itself; as, the automatic
        feed of a lathe; automatic gas lighting; an automatic
        engine or switch; an automatic mouse; an automatic
        transmission. The opposite of {manual}.
  
     Note: Narrower terms are: {autoloading(prenominal),
           semiautomatic ; {automated, machine-controlled,
           machine-driven ; {self-acting, self-activating,
           self-moving, self-regulating ; {self-locking ;
           {self-winding . Also See: mechanical.
           [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
  
     3. (Physiol.) Not voluntary; not depending on the will;
        mechanical; controlled by the autonomic nervous system;
        without conscious control; as, automatic movements or
        functions. The opposite of {voluntary}.
  
     Syn: reflex(prenominal), reflexive,involuntary
          [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
  
                Unconscious or automatic reasoning. --H. Spenser.
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     4. like the unthinking functioning of a machine. an automatic
        `thank you'
  
     Syn: automaton-like, automatonlike, machinelike,
          machine-like, robotlike.
          [WordNet 1.5]
  
     {Automatic arts}, such economic arts or manufacture as are
        carried on by self-acting machinery. --Ure.
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