Mecha

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genre characterized by large robots typically piloted by humans, often used in combat within animated series and films
2. A category of media featuring robotic machines controlled by humans, commonly depicted in battles in animations and films
3. A style of storytelling that involves giant mechanized robots piloted by individuals, frequently engaged in conflict within animated works and cinema

Etymology: Japanese borrowed "mechanical" from English and clipped it to "meka," a shortened form that became common slang for anything machine-like, from gadgets to hardware. The English word it started from, "mechanical," traces back to Greek "mēchanē," meaning contrivance or device, so the clipping has come full circle to a machine-centred idea that begins in Greek engineering. In Japanese, "meka" came to name the giant robots that fill this genre, and the sense of "mechanical" as a built machine carried over naturally into these fictional war machines. The English term "mecha" was then adopted from that Japanese usage to describe the style of storytelling itself, so the word has moved from English into Japanese and back again.

Synonyms: mechanical suit, robot