Automators

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or device that performs tasks automatically to increase efficiency
2. a system designed to operate without human intervention
3. an individual or mechanism implementing automation to streamline processes

Etymology: "Automators" is the plural of "automator," a noun for a person or device that carries out tasks without direct human control. The singular is formed from "automate," which in turn is a back-formation from "automatic." That adjective comes from the Greek "automatos," meaning "self-acting" or "acting of its own accord," built from "autos" (self) and a second element of uncertain origin. The Greek sense was broad. "Automatos" could describe something that happened or moved by itself, without an outside push, and that idea passed into Latin as "automaton" for a self-moving machine. Over time, the "automatic" family narrowed from things that act spontaneously to machines that run on their own, and "automate" and its agent noun followed that path. The suffix "-or," from Latin "-or" and "-ator," turns the verb into a noun for the thing or person doing the work.

Synonyms: automatons, robots, machines, androids, mechanisms

Antonyms: humans, operators, controllers, manual workers, artisans