Automaton

aw-tom′a-ton, n. a self-moving machine, or one which moves by concealed machinery: a living being regarded as without consciousne : the self-acting power of the muscular and nervous systems, by which movement is effected without intelligent determination: a human being who acts by routine, without intelligence:— pl. Autom′atons , Autom′ata .— adjs. Automat′ic , -al .— adv. Automat′ically .— ns. Autom′atism , automatic or involuntary action: power of self-moving: power of initiating vital proce es from within the cell, organ, or organism, independently of any direct or immediate stimulus from without: the doctrine that animals are automata, their motions, ., being the result of mechanical laws; Autom′atist , one who holds the doctrine of automatism. [Gr. automatos , self-moving— autos , self, and a stem mat- , to strive after, to move.]