Mechanikos

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to or involving machines or machinery; connected with the principles or practice of mechanical devices; characteristic of working by physical or mechanical means rather than by hand or other methods
2. Pertaining to the design, operation, or use of mechanisms and machinery; associated with the application of mechanical laws and techniques; indicative of processes executed through mechanical systems
3. Concerned with machines or the mechanics of moving parts; involving tools, engines, or mechanical instruments; describing actions or functions carried out through mechanical forces or equipment

Etymology: Ancient Greek "mēkhanē" meant a contrivance, device or stratagem, and it is the root of the English word "machine" and of "mechanikos", meaning "skilled in contrivance" or "of machines". The Greeks used the adjective for craftsmen who built devices, and for the study of forces and motion that underlay their engines. Its Latin descendant "mechanicus" and the English "mechanic" passed through Old French, and the word entered English in the 1300s, when "mechanic" described a manual worker or craftsman. The Greek word also carried a sense of cunning. A "mēkhanēma" could be a trick or a ruse, so the notion of a machine began as something clever rather than something made of iron. Over time the adjective shifted from "skilled with one's hands" toward the technical, and "mechanical" came to describe anything operated by physical forces or by machinery.

Synonyms: mechanical, engineer, technician

Antonyms: nonmechanical