mechanic
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See also: Mechanic
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- mechanick (obsolete)
Etymology[edit]
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 (mēkhanikós, “pertaining to machines or contrivance, mechanic, ingenious, inventive”), from μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “a machine, contrivance”); see machine.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /məˈkænɪk/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ænɪk
- Hyphenation: me‧chan‧ic
Adjective[edit]
mechanic
- (archaic) mechanical; relating to the laws of motion in the art of constructing things
- (Can we date this quote by Ray and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- these mechanic philosophers
- c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii]:
- Mechanic slaves, With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers.
- (Can we date this quote by Ray and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- (obsolete) Of or relating to a mechanic or artificer, or to the class of artisans; hence, rude; common; vulgar; base.
- (Can we date this quote by Roscommon and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- To make a god, a hero, or a king / Descend to a mechanic dialect.
- (Can we date this quote by Thomson and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- Sometimes he ply'd the strong, mechanic tool.
- 1654, Richard Whitlock, Zootomia; Or, Observations on the Present Manners of the English
- Authors both Sacred and Profane we see complain of the Level of Learning, with Mechanick Ignorance: […]
- (Can we date this quote by Roscommon and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
Noun[edit]
mechanic (plural mechanics)
- (now chiefly historical) A manual worker; a labourer or artisan. [from 16th c.]
- 1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 77:
- The lower orders were freer than they had ever been – free […] to choose their own lay preachers, mechanics like the rest of the congregation.
- Someone who builds or repairs machinery, a technician; now specifically, someone who works with and repairs the mechanical parts of a motor vehicle, aircraft or similar. [from 17th c.]
- A device, command, or feature which allows someone to achieve a specific task. [from 20th c.]
- This game has a mechanic where if you run toward a ledge you automatically jump off rather than just falling.
- A hit man. [from 20th c.]
- 1972, film title:
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
skilled worker on machinery
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Further reading[edit]
- mechanic in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- “mechanic” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2020.
- mechanic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
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