- Automatical
- Automatic Au`to*mat"ic, Automatical Au`to*mat"ic*al, a. [Cf.
F. automatique. See {Automaton}.]
1. Having an inherent power of action or motion.
[1913 Webster]
Nothing can be said to be automatic. --Sir H. Davy. [1913 Webster]
2. Pertaining to, or produced by, an automaton; of the nature of an automaton; self-acting or self-regulating under fixed conditions; operating with minimal human intervention; -- esp. applied to machinery or devices in which certain things formerly or usually done by hand are done by the machine or device itself; as, the automatic feed of a lathe; automatic gas lighting; an automatic engine or switch; an automatic mouse; an automatic transmission. The opposite of {manual}.
Note: Narrower terms are: {autoloading(prenominal), semiautomatic ; {automated, machine-controlled, machine-driven ; {self-acting, self-activating, self-moving, self-regulating ; {self-locking ; {self-winding . Also See: mechanical. [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
3. (Physiol.) Not voluntary; not depending on the will; mechanical; controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control; as, automatic movements or functions. The opposite of {voluntary}.
Syn: reflex(prenominal), reflexive,involuntary [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
Unconscious or automatic reasoning. --H. Spenser. [1913 Webster]
4. like the unthinking functioning of a machine. an automatic `thank you'
Syn: automaton-like, automatonlike, machinelike, machine-like, robotlike. [WordNet 1.5]
{Automatic arts}, such economic arts or manufacture as are carried on by self-acting machinery. --Ure. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.