mechanic

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• mechanick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English mechanike (“mechanic art”), from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus (“of or belonging to machines or mechanics, inventive”), from Ancient Greek μηχανικός (mēkhanikos, “pertaining to machines or contrivance, mechanic, ingenious, inventive”), from μηχανή (mēkhanē, “a machine, contrivance”); see machine.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

mechanic

1. (archaic) mechanical; relating to the laws of motion in the art of constructing things
   • Ray

     These mechanic philosophers.

   • Shakespeare

     Mechanic slaves, With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers.

2. (obsolete) Of or relating to a mechanic or artificer, or to the class of artisans; hence, rude; common; vulgar.
   • Roscommon

     To make a god, a hero, or a king / Descend to a mechanic dialect.

   • Thomson

     Sometimes he ply'd the strong, mechanic tool.

3. (obsolete) base

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Whitlock to this entry?)

Noun

mechanic (plural mechanics)

1. A skilled worker capable of building or repairing machinery. A mechanic can be compared to a technician, the distinction being that the technician is stronger in theory, the mechanic stronger in hands-on experience.

Derived terms

• auto mechanic

Related terms

• mechanical
• mechanically
• mechanics
• mechanism
• mechanistic
• mechanization
• mechanize

Translations

a skilled worker capable of building or repairing machinery

• Arabic: ميكانيكي (ar) (mikaniiki) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 技工 (cmn) (jìgōng)

• Czech: mechanik (cs) m
• Danish: mekaniker (da) c
• Dutch: mecanicien (nl) m, werktuigkunde (nl) m
• Esperanto: meĥaniko (eo)
• Finnish: mekaanikko (fi)
• French: mécanicien (fr) m
• German: Mechaniker (de) m, Mechanikerin (de) f
• Greek: μηχανικός (el) (mikhanikós) m and f, μηχανοτεχνίτης (el) (mikhanotekhnítis) m
• Hindi: मिस्त्री (hi) (mistrī) m, दस्तकार (hi) (mekenik) m
• Hungarian: gépész (hu), műszerész (hu)
• Italian: meccanico (it) m
• Japanese: 修理工 (ja) (しゅうりこう, shūrikō), 自動車整備士 (ja) (じどうしゃせいびし, jidōsha seibishi)
• Jèrriais: mécanicien m
• Khmer: ជាងម៉ាស៊ីន (km) (chieng maasɨn)

• Korean: 직공 (ko) (jikgong) (技工 (ko))
• Latvian: mehāniķis (lv) m, mehāniķe (lv) f
• Maltese: mekanik (mt)
• Polish: mechanik (pl) m
• Portuguese: mecânico (pt) m
• Romanian: mecanic (ro) f
• Russian: механик (ru) (mexánik) m
• Scottish Gaelic: innleadair (gd) m, meacanaig (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: механичар (sh) m

  Roman: mehaničar (sh) m

• Spanish: mecánico (es) m
• Swedish: mekaniker (sv) c
• Tagalog: mekaniko (tl)
• Thai: ช่างเครื่อง (th) (cháng khrướng)
• Turkish: makina ustası (tr)
• Vietnamese: thợ máy (vi)

External links

• mechanic in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• “mechanic” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
• mechanic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913