auton

English

WOTD – 1 November 2013

Etymology

Coined by Robert Holmes in 1969, from a contraction of automaton.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɔː.tɒn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.tɑn/, /ˈɔ.tɑn/

Noun

auton (plural autons)

1. (science fiction) A machine or robot, usually in the form of a living being, designed to follow a precise sequence of instructions.
   • 1974, Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, page 55

     Not far away in the woods the Auton had been standing motionless under a tree. It was shaped like a man but it was not human.

   • 2002, Sean McMullen, Voyage of the Shadowmoon, page 461

     "The Metrologan Order built the auton that was Ninth. How can you be so sure that she was not so well crafted that she really did have her own will?"

   • 2004, Vernor Vinge, Marooned in Realtime

     Juan made seven attempts to pervert the auton. One involved twelve hundred years of careful observation, timing the failure of various subsystems, maneuvering the auton into a position where he might take control and get transportation to resources in near space.

Related terms

• automat
• automatic
• automatization
• automatize
• automation
• automaton

Translations

(science fiction) A machine or robot, usually in the form of a living being

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Finnish

Noun

auton

1. Genitive singular form of auto.

Anagrams

• ontua, Tauno, tauon, tuona

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Occitan

Etymology

From Latin autumnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [awˈtu]

Noun

auton m (plural autons)

1. autumn

See also

• (seasons) sason; printemps,‎ estiéu,‎ auton/‎autouno,‎ ivèrn ^{(Category: oc:Seasons) [edit]}