Nanorobot

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A minuscule robotic apparatus created to conduct specialized activities within the molecular realm
2. A diminutive automated entity developed for performing targeted functions at the nanoscale level
3. A tiny machine engineered to operate at the scale of molecules and atoms for precise functions

Etymology: "Nano-" comes from the ancient Greek "nânos," meaning "dwarf," which Latin later borrowed as "nānus." English took the prefix in modern scientific use, where it marks a factor of one billionth. The "robot" half has a far more dramatic past: it comes from Czech "robota," meaning forced labour, which traces back through Old Czech to the same Slavic root that gave "orbъ," meaning servitude or bondage. Czech "robota" passed into English through the 1920 play "R.U.R." by Karel Čapek, where the artificial workers are called robots. So the two halves of "nanorobot" come from a Greek word for a small being and a Czech word for compulsory labour, joined in English to describe a machine smaller than a cell.