Teleoperated

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Operated from a distance by someone using signals or a link, rather than by a person on board or at the machine itself
2. Run remotely, with a machine or device controlled by an operator who is not physically present at its location
3. Directed from afar through radio, wire or network commands, so that the device responds to a distant human controller

Etymology: "Teleoperated" is the past participle of "teleoperate," a verb built from "tele-" and "operate." The prefix "tele-" comes from Greek "tēle," meaning "far off" or "at a distance," and it is the same element found in "telephone" and "television," where it carries the sense of transmission across distance. Joined to "operate," which descends from Latin "operari" ("to work"), the result describes running a machine or device from a remote location. Because the word is a plain combination of two familiar parts, there is no single coiner or dramatic shift in meaning to report. Its meaning stays close to the literal sense of its parts: work done at a distance. The pattern is productive, so the same "tele-" prefix appears in other modern coinages such as "telemetry" and "telecommute."

Synonyms: remote-controlled, robotic, telecontrolled

Antonyms: autonomous, self-operated