"self-acting, moving or acting on its own," 1812, from Greek automatos, used of the gates of Olympus and the tripods of Hephaestus (also "without apparent cause, by accident"), from autos "self" (see auto-) + matos "thinking, animated" (see automaton). Of involuntary animal or human actions, from 1748, first used in this sense by English physician and philosopher David Hartley (1705-1757). In reference to a type of firearm, from 1877; specifically of machinery that imitates human-directed action from 1940.
automatic (n.)
"automatic weapon," 1902, from automatic (adj.). Meaning "motorized vehicle with automatic transmission" is from 1949.
雙語例句
1. They shot him at point blank range with an automatic rifle.
他們用自動(dòng)步槍近距離開槍射殺了他。
來自柯林斯例句
2. An automatic weather station feeds information on wind direction to the computer.
自動(dòng)化氣象站將風(fēng)向信息輸入計(jì)算機(jī)。
來自柯林斯例句
3. An automatic voltage regulator ensured a constant output from the generator.