Servomechanisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of feedback control system that uses sensor data to adjust the position or speed of a mechanical component
2. An automated system incorporating sensors and actuators to precisely control movement or performance in machines
3. A device combining mechanical and electrical elements that automatically regulates its operation based on feedback signals from sensors

Etymology: "Servomechanisms" is the plural of "servomechanism", so the word is its plural form. The singular is a compound of "servo-" and "mechanism". The first part comes from Latin "servus", meaning "slave" or "servant", and reached English through the combining form "servo-", which has come to mean a power-assisted or self-correcting control element. The second part traces back through New Latin "mechanismus" to Ancient Greek "mēkhanē", meaning "contrivance" or "machine". Joined together, the pieces describe a device that serves its own control: the servant part supplies the power, while the mechanism part provides the structure. The compound was formed in English from these classical roots rather than inherited from antiquity, so the ancient Greeks and Romans never used the term itself.

Synonyms: servo, feedback control systems