mechanical

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Contents

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin mēchanicus +‎ -al.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) IPA: /mɪˈkanɪk(ə)l/
  • (US) IPA: /məˈkæ.nə.kəl/
  • (file)

Adjective[edit]

mechanical (comparative more mechanical, superlative most mechanical)

  1. (now rare) Characteristic of someone who does manual labour for a living; coarse, vulgar.
    • 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.43:
      all manner of silks were already become so vile and abject, that was any man seene to weare them, he was presently judged to be some countrie fellow, or mechanicall man.
  2. Related to mechanics (the branch of physics that deals with forces acting on mass).
    mechanical engineering
  3. Related to mechanics (the design and construction of machines).
    mechanical dictionary
  4. Done by machine.
    mechanical task
  5. Using mechanics (the design and construction of machines): being a machine.
    mechanical arm
  6. As if performed by a machine: lifeless or mindless.
    a mechanical reply to a question
  7. (of a person) Acting as if one were a machine: lifeless or mindless.
    The pianist was too mechanical.
  8. (informal) Handy with machines.
    Why don't you ask Joe to fix it? He's very mechanical.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

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