Automaton

3 definitions found

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

  Automaton \Au*tom"a*ton\, n.; pl. L. {Automata}, E.
     {Automatons}. [L. fr. Gr. ?, neut. of ? self-moving; ? self +
     a root ma, man, to strive, think, cf. ? to strive. See
     {Mean}, v. i.]
     1. Any thing or being regarded as having the power of
        spontaneous motion or action. --Huxley.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              So great and admirable an automaton as the world.
                                                    --Boyle.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              These living automata, human bodies.  --Boyle.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A self-moving machine, or one which has its motive power
        within itself; -- applied chiefly to machines which appear
        to imitate spontaneously the motions of living beings,
        such as men, birds, etc.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  automaton
       n 1: someone who acts or responds in a mechanical or apathetic
            way; "only an automaton wouldn't have noticed" [syn: {zombi},
             {zombie}]
       2: a mechanism that can move automatically [syn: {robot}, {golem}]
       [also: {automata} (pl)]

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  automaton
       
           (Plural automata) A
          machine, {robot}, or {formal system} designed to follow a
          precise sequence of instructions.
       
          Automata theory, the invention and study of automata, includes
          the study of the capabilities and limitations of computing
          processes, the manner in which systems receive input, process
          it, and produce output, and the relationships between
          behavioural theories and the operation and use of automated
          devices.
       
          See also {cellular automaton}, {finite state machine}.
       
          (1996-04-23)