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mechanism

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English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-der.?
Ancient Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ)der.
New Latin mechanismuslbor.
English mechanism

    Learned borrowing from New Latin mechanismus.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    mechanism (countable and uncountable, plural mechanisms)

    1. (within a machine or machinery) Any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power.
    2. Any combination of cams, gears, links, belts, chains and logical mechanical elements.
      • 2012 March, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
        A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.
    3. A group of entities, such as objects, that interact together.
      • 1999 February 1, Pamela Mendels, “Judge Delays Online Pornography Law”, in The New York Times‎[2], archived from the original on 6 October 2022:
        A site that carried [sexually explicit] material, but that gated it off from children through credit cards or other mechanisms to verify the age of the user, would have an acceptable defense under the act.
      • 2010 February 22, Catherine Rampell, “A New Social Contract, but Which One?”, in The New York Times‎[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 October 2021:
        Whatever the mechanism, attempts to starve the beast through revenue shortages somehow seem to make the beast all the more voracious.
      • 2015 December 21, Michael D. Geschwind, “Prion Diseases”, in Continuum (Minneap Minn), →DOI:
        A very rare polymorphism in the prion protein gene recently has been identified that appears to protect against prion disease; this finding, in addition to providing greater understanding of the prionlike mechanisms of neurodegenerative disorders, might lead to potential treatments.
      • 2023 March 22, 'Industry Insider', “Restoring Your Railway”, in RAIL, number 979, page 68:
        Outside the boundaries of the PTEs [Passenger Transport Executives], there was little mechanism to re-open routes, and despite a growing realisation that the lack of transport connectivity was a big contributor towards social deprivation and poor economic performance, there was little government policy recognition.
    4. A mental, physical, or chemical process.
    5. Any process of, or system designed to manage useful energy conversion.
    6. (philosophy) The theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes.
      Synonym: mechanicism

    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    • → Welsh: mecanism

    Translations

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