automatic (English)

Where does "automatic" come from?

The English adjective automatic was borrowed from New Latin 'automaticus'[1]. This New Latin form built upon Classical Latin 'automatum'[1], meaning 'automaton'[1], which came from the Ancient Greek neuter 'αὐτόματον'[1]. That Greek term originated from 'αὐτόματος', meaning 'self-moving' or 'spontaneous'[1]. The roots stretch back to the Ancient Greek components 'αὐτός', meaning 'self'[1], and a base derived from the Proto-Indo-European root '*men-', meaning 'to think'[3].

Open questions

• The derivation of the Ancient Greek component αὐτός involves competing proposals connecting it to Proto-Indo-European or internal Greek reflexes. [4]

Full etymology tree

• automatic (English), 'Capable of operating without external control or intervention.'
  • borrowed automaticus (New Latin)
    • derived automatum (Latin), 'automaton'
      • borrowed αὐτόματον (autómaton) (Ancient Greek), 'inflection of αὐτόμᾰτος (autómătos):'
        • derived αὐτόματος (autómatos) (Ancient Greek), 'self-willed, unbidden'
          • compound αὐτο- (auto-) (Ancient Greek), 'self-'
            • derived αὐτός (autós) (Ancient Greek), 'self'
              • derived *h₂ew (Proto-Indo-European), 'away from, off'
              • derived *só (Proto-Indo-European), 'this'
          • compound *mətós (Proto-Hellenic)
            • inherited *mn̥tós (Proto-Indo-European), 'thought'
              • derived *men- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to think, mind'
    • suffix -icus (Latin), 'of or pertaining to; belonging to; derived from; connected with: -ic, -ish'

Ancestors

• *men- (Proto-Indo-European)
• automatum (Latin)
• αὐτόματον (Ancient Greek)

Descendants and derived words

• automatik (Albanian)
• automatik (Albanian)
• automagic (English)
• automatical (English)
• automatically (English)
• automatic data processing machine (English)
• automatic differentiation (English)
• automatic distance control (English)
• automatic door (English)
• automatic half-barrier level crossing (English)
• automaticity (English)
• automatic leveling system (English)

Sources

1. automatic (English) - Wiktionary
2. automatum (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. αὐτόματος (autómatos) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
4. αὐτός (autós) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
5. μέμαα (mémaa) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris