automaton

Definition

A machine or robot designed to follow a precise sequence of instructions.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek αὐτόματον (autómaton), neuter of αὐτόματος (autómatos, “self moving, self willed”). Doublet of automat.

Example Sentences

• "Nick had heard her play through the very beginning of it a dozen times, until he was screaming at her in his head to go on. Well, now she did, watching her own hands busying up and down the keyboard as if they were astonishing automata that she had wound up and set in motion, in perfect synchrony, to produce this silvery flow of sound."
• "Due to her strict adherence to her daily schedule, Jessica was becoming more and more convinced that she was an automaton."
• "July 12, 1816, Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Kercheval Monticello A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on 'til the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering."

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